War is not sustained by weapons, institutions, and policy alone. It is also sustained through culture: through the stories, images, symbols, language, music, memory, and performances that can make war seem normal, necessary, or heroic.
These same cultural forms can also challenge militarism, strengthen movements for peace, and make alternatives to war visible.
At its heart, this course brings forward the importance of understanding peacebuilding as both a science and an art. It requires analysis, strategy, organization, training, and technical skill. It also requires imagination, creativity, cultural awareness, emotional intelligence, practical wisdom, experimentation, and communication that can move people.
What the course covers
Across six modules, participants will explore writing, poetry, music, sound, visual culture, film, theater, and performance through examples from different cultural and political contexts.
Over the six weeks, you will explore:
Why the arts matter for war, peace, and public imagination
How writing, poetry, and storytelling can challenge dominant narratives
How music, sound, and collective voice can support memory, protest, solidarity, mourning, healing, and hope
How visual culture, film, and public imagery shape moral and political imagination
How theater, performance, and embodied practice can open dialogue, deepen empathy, and rehearse alternatives
How to develop a small arts-based idea, project, intervention, or communication piece for your own context
How the course works
The course is fully online and flexible. Each week includes short materials, examples, reflective questions, discussion opportunities, and accessible creative exercises.
The course also includes three optional live Zoom sessions for discussion, reflection, and exchange with participants and facilitators from different parts of the world.
Dates: Monday, June 1 – Monday, July 13, 2026
Format: Fully online, with six flexible weekly modules
Live sessions: June 9, June 23, and July 7
Certificate: Available for participants who complete the optional weekly assignments
Cost: Standard fee $100, with sliding scale prices starting at $25
No prior artistic training is required.
This course is for anyone interested in how culture and creativity shape war, peace, and social change. It will be especially relevant for peacebuilders, educators, artists, creative practitioners, organizers, campaigners, communicators, researchers, students, and lifelong learners. It is also for those already using creative methods who want to approach their work through a peace and anti-war lens.
Sliding scale places are available according to ability to pay. Those able to contribute beyond the standard fee are welcome to do so, helping support access for participants who would otherwise be unable to attend.
We hope you will join us for this timely, creative, and practical global learning journey.