Peter Stearns

Peter Stearns, University Professor of History at George Mason University (GMU), explained that his involvement with the Center has been inspired by Daisaku Ikeda’s belief that if we are to be true global citizens each of us must decide what we can do to promote peace. In terms of his involvement with the Center, this has taken many forms. In 2013, when he was Provost of GMU he co-hosted with the Center a thought-provoking seminar called “Global Citizenship and Cultural Assumptions About Peace and the Military.” In 2015, he was a featured speaker at that year’s Ikeda Forum, called “The Practice of Dignity: What It Means Today.” And in 2018, he served as the lead editor for the multi-author volume Peacebuilding Through Dialogue: Education, Human Transformation, and Conflict Resolution. A prolific author, in 2014 Dr. Stearns met Ikeda’s challenge of acting for peace by authoring the survey book Peace In World History. In 2015, he spoke with the Center about his motivations for writing that book and the discoveries he made in the process. The closing words of his introduction to Peacebuilding give us a sense of his priorities: “Not only the results but the process of sincere dialogue move all participants toward more peaceful interactions, in turn the greatest need of the world we live in.”

Photo: Marilyn Humphries