Hate Studies: Toward Jesuit Leadership on Curriculum Development

Abstract

This paper examines how the academic study of hate can be understood through Catholic social justice teachings with an emphasis on the Jesuit commitment to faith and justice to allow for a critical refl ection on the relationship between theory and practice. To make the connections between social justice and the study of hate, the paper begins with a description of Hate Studies and a brief overview of the Jesuit conception of social justice as it relates to higher edu-cation. Following these descriptions it is explained how Jesuits can infl uence the development of a curriculum for Hate Studies. This infl uence is refl ected through the fi ve key processes of promoting justice, human dignity, and human rights; integrating faith, scholarship, and activism; involving Catholic colleges and universities with contemporary issues; engaging in refl ective practice; and transforming culture. H ate as an inspiration for individual and collective action related to murdering, terrorizing, or oppressing another individual or group is neither a unique nor a new phenomenon in today's world. Throughout history, acts of hate have been perpetrated by one group against another based on a perceived element of difference in the " other, " whether it was based on culture, race, religion, gender, sexuality, or other characteristics (Sternberg, 2003). Even today, hate is a common experience of people throughout the world (Bayley, 2002). Though hate and the acts associated with it are not new, what has changed is that our society has become less tolerant of such acts. This new attitude toward hate has led society to seek ways to challenge hate in an effort to prevent it from motivating people to engage in violent, prejudi-cial, and possibly genocidal acts. Establishing a fi eld of Hate Studies has been proposed as one means of analyzing hate and developing effective methods of understanding, combat-ing, and controlling it (Blitzer 2005/06; Stern, 2003/04). By understanding the growth and consequences of hatred, we are better able to develop effec-tive remedies and strategies to counter it (Sternberg, 2003; Yanay, 2002). This new fi eld of Hate Studies provides an avenue for engaging in the scholarly,