Feminist Perspectives on Peace Education

In: Journal of peace research, Band 28, Heft 2, S. 231-235

Abstract

Two books by Birgit Brock-Utne, Educating for Peace and Feminist Perspectives on Peace and Peace Education, convey the picture of their author, an internationally known activist in women's work for peace. Peace is defined not only as absence of violence, but as equality of rights as well. The author provides plenty of facts about the disadvantageous living conditions and position of women, and classifies this information into categories of violence. A feminist perspective on peace education means concentrating on women's possibilities to influence the socialization process of (their) children. The author's personal contribution consists of analysing a wealt of research results from the viewpoint of gender-specific socialization. Starting from the view that boys are educated for war and girls for peace, the author develops a view of socialization that would promote peace. The discussion of socialization concentrates on its influence on personality traits of youngsters, but the growth process itself is not really analysed. Seen from the author's feminist perspective, the formal school system is unfit for peace education, functioning to maintain the existing (male) power structure of society. Conceptual extrapolation from individual traits to the relationships between nations and national states is characteristic of many views presented by the author. In the final pages of the second monograph, the author states that in order to promote peace, changes should be made simultaneously at the micro-, meso-and macrolevels of society. If this is taken seriously, then the role of the formal school system cannot be overlooked.