Blog

Peace Fellowship: Campus Engagement with Native American Voices and Experiences by Gabby McMillon

Mainstream society highlights and centers various perspectives. In most cases, voices of dominant groups tend to be incorporated into the popular narrative, a narrative that influences people’s worldview and social reality. This creates a misguided and unbalanced narrative that leaves out the voices of marginalized groups. One group that is impacted by this is native … Continue reading Peace Fellowship: Campus Engagement with Native American Voices and Experiences by Gabby McMillon

Encounter, Self-reflexivity, and Belonging by Timothy Seidel

Regardless of the class I am teaching—whether it’s Social and Political Economy, Globalization and Justice, or even History of the Middle East—I begin and end the semester with a conversation about what I think are really important learning goals. Yes, each class has its own particular learning goals, like “develop an understanding of the complexity … Continue reading Encounter, Self-reflexivity, and Belonging by Timothy Seidel

Dismantling the Event by Emily Powell & Yasmiene Mabrouk

This Indigenous People’s Day, Eastern Mennonite University held two events to honor the people living on this continent who were displaced by colonization. The first event, Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery, provided an introduction to the influence of church doctrine on colonialism and featured a documentary and a discussion. The second event featured the documentary … Continue reading Dismantling the Event by Emily Powell & Yasmiene Mabrouk

A Summer Well Spent by Felix Kioko

From my personal interest in international and community development, I have been working alongside the local women in rural Kenya. I believe that women play a significant role in community development. In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and live in a free poverty world, women need to be engaged and empowered through … Continue reading A Summer Well Spent by Felix Kioko

It’s Personal: My Experience with Investigating Whiteness by Nicole Litwiller

“How was your summer?!” is pretty common question for those returning to school after summer break. I expected the question, but when I was asked for the first time this semester, I had to pause and think. The expected “It was so great!” doesn’t quite fit for my experience this past summer – it certainly … Continue reading It’s Personal: My Experience with Investigating Whiteness by Nicole Litwiller

Bridging the Gap Between Incarceration and Community by Gabby McMillon

Going into my semester at the Washington Community Scholars Center, EMU's location in the nation's capital, I wondered if my internship was a good fit for me. I had been placed with a reentry non-profit called Voices for a Second Chance. I had a basic understanding of criminal justice issues from reading Michelle Alexander’s book The New … Continue reading Bridging the Gap Between Incarceration and Community by Gabby McMillon

An Attempt at Decolonizing the Classroom By Myriam Aziz

I came to the U.S. for the first time when I was 15 years old. I was the only Arab in my school. When people would ask me where I was from and I would say “Lebanon,”, very few knew where that was. It seemed unfair mainly because I knew so much about American culture. … Continue reading An Attempt at Decolonizing the Classroom By Myriam Aziz

Different Voices, Common Truth by Ben Rush

Academic department chapels at EMU are held each spring. They provide an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to worship in an intimate setting and meditate on their vocation and divine calling. These chapels are one of many ways for students to explore the Christian faith that is part of the core of EMU’s curriculum. … Continue reading Different Voices, Common Truth by Ben Rush

Hope in the Midst of Occupation by Adrienne Derstine

It has been nearly two months of traveling in the footsteps of Jesus, waking up to the Muslim call to prayer, and eating endless pita with hummus. I set out for the Middle East through the Cross-Cultural program at EMU with the intention of studying the Israel/Palestine conflict and to hear stories from all stakeholders. … Continue reading Hope in the Midst of Occupation by Adrienne Derstine

ICPF Conference & Restorative Justice by Caleb Schrock-Hurst

This past weekend I jumped into a car with four other EMU students from Peace Fellowship Club and drove 10 hours north to Conrad Grebel University College in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. About an hour and a half southwest of Toronto, Conrad Grebel is a sister school of EMU’s and was the host of this year’s … Continue reading ICPF Conference & Restorative Justice by Caleb Schrock-Hurst