the Life narratives for the education of deep and imperfect peace

Abstract

This article draws its sources from the doctoral thesis entitled; “Scaffolding of peace. Education for peace based on territorial meanings and agencies linked in the life narratives of teachers, case of the Puerto Iris Educational Institution, in the Municipality of Puerto Concordia, Department of Meta, Colombia” (2025), and presents a reflection on deep and imperfect peace as a social and educational experience that recognizes the diversity of modes and forms of peaceful and nonviolent overcoming of conflicts, which are inherent to the human condition in its multiple relationships with the environment. In this sense, peace is conceived as an unfinished, dynamic and constantly evolving process, which from the perspective of Rodolfo Kuhs (1973) has its genesis in the notion of “Being-Being”, a category of study, which fosters a horizon of understanding from Deep America (1962), to generate some essential theses to recognize the anthropology of Latin American man.

Deep and imperfect peace is presented as an ethical, political, and pedagogical commitment aimed at fostering critical citizens capable of peacefully transforming conflicts through personal self-regulation. This proposal draws on liberation ethics, critical pedagogy, and the thought of alterity, integrating the contributions of Freire, Lévinas, and the peace studies of Francisco Muñoz (2004). From this perspective, educating for progress involves recovering local memory, reclaiming fundamental rights, questioning the common sense that normalizes inequality, and strengthening social cohesion through the renewal of new forms of democratic participation.

The construction of a deep and imperfect peace depends, in part, on an educational system committed to fostering critical thinking based on the contributions of science and technology to contribute to concrete solutions, thereby preventing the perpetuation of violence.

Methodologically, the research is based on a qualitative, narrative approach, supported by the unitary framework of peace studies (Muñoz, 2004). Through life narratives, particularly that of teacher Gregorio M., who has worked for over twenty-three (23) years in the municipality of Puerto Concordia (Meta Department, Colombia), the study analyzes the peacemaking processes that have emerged in contexts of violence. These narratives constitute fundamental inputs for the design of scenarios and guidelines for peace education, highlighting the teacher's ontological role as a transformative agent in society.

In summary, this reflection seeks to affirm that educating for peace means forming subjects capable of responding ethically to the needs of the Other, Others and the Totally Other (Levinas, 1999), in order to preserve territorial identities and collectively build alternatives for a dignified life, recognizing that peace, in its depth and imperfection, is a permanent task for the educational system, which forms the human being and his society.