Share this Story
Peace Literacy to be Topic for 2020 Justine L. Nusbaum Lecture on September 24
In a virtual reality avatar presentation, Paul Chappell will introduce a new paradigm for peace
International peace educator, Paul Chappell, will be the speaker for the 2020 Justine L. Nusbaum Lecture presented by the Robert Nusbaum Center at VWU. The virtual event will be a Zoom presentation on Thursday, September 24, at 7:00 p.m.
Chappell, who lectures around the world, is the Peace Leadership Director for the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. He is also the author of the seven-book series, “Road to Peace.”
During this event, Chappell will be using Virtual Reality (VR) in an avatar presentation that focuses on peace literacy and hope. His presentation, “Human Needs, Trauma, and the World of Electric Light: A Multisensory Experience in Virtual Reality,” introduces a new paradigm for waging peace that frames peace not merely as a goal, but as a practical skill-set that addresses the root causes of our human problems.
Chappell’s lecture will upend Maslow’s hierarchy of physical needs and demonstrate the importance of non-physical needs such as belonging and self-worth. He contends that trauma can become tangled with our non-physical needs with predictable consequences and failure to meet these needs in healthy ways is at the root of many global problems confronting us today. He believes that education in peace literacy helps us navigate crisis, uncertainty, and rapidly evolving digital technologies in ways that lead toward a more peaceful and just world.
Growing up in a violent household, he was plagued by feelings of alienation and rage as a child. He fantasized about shooting his classmates, and became obsessed with how to protect people and societies from people like him. A West Point graduate, former Army captain, and Iraq War veteran, Chappell’s military service taught him that people don’t simply gravitate toward peaceful behavior, in large part because they aren’t trained to do so. In an era when humanity has the technological capacity to destroy itself and when humans frequently don’t control their own dispositions, Chappell realized the need for us to become as well-trained in waging peace as soldiers are in waging war.
Participation is limited and registration is required. Please click here to register.
Visit the Peace Literacy website for more information and resources.