草莓社区

Miguel H. D铆az, PhD, The John Courtney Murray, S.J., University Chair in Public Service in the College of Arts and Sciences at 草莓社区, co-edited a book, The Rondine Method: A Relational Approach to Conflict that was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2023. 

鈥淭his book is a wonderful example of how Dr. Diaz鈥檚 scholarship combines his impressive professional background as a theologian and diplomat with his ongoing commitment to advance social justice on global scale,鈥� said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淗e is a true diplomat-scholar.鈥� 

This book details the Rondide Method, a residential peacebuilding program located in Rondine Citadella della Pace (Italy) and the unique way the program engages with young activists coming from communities torn by conflict, war, and polarization. This two-year long residential program provides its students with a master's degree, trauma healing, and above all else training in peacebuilding.  

In The Rondine Method, D铆az and his co-authors delve into the origin of the method and its founder, Franco Vaccari, alongside the impact on the students participating in the program. While at Rondine, which is located in a Tuscan village, students work in pairs representing 鈥渂oth sides鈥� of a conflict and prepare projects that they will put into place when they return home. Their collective goal is to build a relationship of respect and trust and create a solution that they can implement back in their respective communities.  

"Readers of this book will learn how resisting dehumanization and practicing hospitality is central to building lasting peace," stated D铆az. "This book introduces English-speaking audiences to this unique, residential, and youth-led relational approach to conflict."   

D铆az reminisces on his introduction with Rondine, which coincided with the 10th anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11. "I invited diplomats residing in Rome to listen to a group of Rondine students share their interpretations of 9/11 and their dreams to build lasting world peace," said D铆az.  

As D铆az highlighted, 鈥淭he method teaches students to learn to challenge and overcome social, cultural, and religious constructions that all too-often cause human othering, culture wars, and turn neighbors into enemies.鈥� 

The Rondine Method deepens the understanding of the psycho-social mechanisms of peacebuilding to cultivate interpersonal, interreligious, and intercultural connections.  

"I have seen first-hand the success of the Rondine Method, as students coming from adversarial social contexts befriend one another and choose relationship over hostility, community over isolation, and peace over conflict," emphasized D铆az. 

D铆az first became acquainted with the Rondine Method and its young leaders for peace program when he first served as the 9th U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See (2009-12) as part of President Barack Obama鈥檚 administration. He regularly engages in various diplomatic endeavors in Washington, D.C., such as serving as a member of the Ambassadors Circle at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and is a member on the Board and as a Senior Fellow for Religion and Peacebuilding at the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP).

Learn more about D铆az and his work here, along with . 

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of 草莓社区鈥檚 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 37 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University鈥檚 Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola鈥檚 students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be 鈥渋ndividuals for others.鈥�