Teaching Peace Where Borders Divide: Interdisciplinary Praxis in a Criminal Justice Program

Authors

• Lucas Espinoza, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Abstract

This article describes a criminal justice senior-level undergraduate course, CRIJ 4350: Peace, Nonviolence, & Justice, at a Hispanic-serving institution known as the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. The course centers five key frameworks: critical pedagogy, intersectionality, decolonial theory, restorative and transformative justice, and trauma-informed care, as this course departs from carceral models of justice education. Grounded in theory, literature, and research from criminal justice, criminology, peace and conflict studies, sociology, political science, ethics/philosophy, social justice, human rights, and critical pedagogy, the course centers student reflection from course evaluations, relationships, and experiences of a faculty member. Students learn about structural violence, environmental injustice, and alternative justice practices through pláticas, community-based projects, and experiential learning. The course also redefines peace education as not only the absence of conflict but the presence of justice, healing, and resistance. Students' reflections and projects demonstrate substantial transformations in awareness, civic duty, and harmful systems. This article contributes to critical peace education and criminology by showcasing liberatory pedagogies that can transform justice education and promote social change. This article suggests that peace education is not an add-on but an integral part of criminal justice education in border communities defined by border militarization, racial surveillance, and intergenerational trauma.

Author Bio(s)

Lucas Enrique Espinoza is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and the Assistant Director of Faculty Advocacy at the Office for Advocacy & Violence Prevention (OAVP) at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). He teaches across the undergraduate criminal justice program, the social justice minor, and the seated and accelerated online graduate criminal justice programs. In his administrative role, he provides confidential resource support, sexual-violence advocacy, and Title IX advising to members of the university community, offering trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and culturally responsive care to individuals affected by sexual and interpersonal violence. In his administrative role, he serves as a confidential resource, sexual violence advocate, and Title IX advisor for members of the university community, supporting survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence through trauma-informed, survivor-centered, and culturally responsive care. Dr. Espinoza earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from Texas Woman’s University, with a concentration in Social Organization/Disorganization and a minor in Multicultural Women’s & Gender Studies. He holds multiple professional certifications, including Community Health Worker (CHW), Community Health Worker Instructor (CHW-I), Adult Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aider, Human Rights Consultant, and Certified Peer Educator. His research and service focus on the intersections of violence, identity, and resistance, particularly within Latin@/Hispanic/Mexican/Mexican American, Black, LGBTQ+, and immigrant communities. A mixed-methods-trained social scientist, Dr. Espinoza’s work is methodologically rigorous and interdisciplinary, to engage feminist and intersectional criminology to advance historically informed and culturally responsive approaches to justice, education, and systemic change.

Keywords

intersectional peace education, decolonial pedagogy, restorative justice, trauma-informed teaching, criminal justice education reform

Recommended Citation

Espinoza, Lucas (2026) "Teaching Peace Where Borders Divide: Interdisciplinary Praxis in a Criminal Justice Program," Peace and Conflict Studies: Vol. 33: No. 1, Article 1.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/pcs/vol33/iss1/1

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4367-9159