Professor Siobhan McEvoy-Levy has taught at Butler University for more than 30 years, making significant contributions to education. Photo by Yejin Shin.

YEJIN SHIN | STAFF REPORTER | yshin1@butler.edu 

There is a professor who had been exposed to conflict since she was born but has taught discord and peace at Butler for 30 years. Her name is Siobhan McEvoy-Levy, and she teaches political science and peace and conflict studies. She is also the director of the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab. She has tried to engage with students as equals, morally and ethically. Her approach to education draws on her childhood in war-torn Ireland to deepen her understanding of students.

McEvoy-Levy was born in Northern Ireland in 1968 when Northern Ireland had continuous political and religious conflicts. The conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, as well as between Ireland and Britain, had started before she was born and exposed her to both conflict and interest in peace. McEvoy-Levy sat down with The Butler Collegian to discuss her journey and why her educational philosophy makes her class unique.

THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN: How did you become interested in peace? 

Siobhan McEvoy-Levy: I was born when ‘The Troubles’ [started] in the north of Ireland. I’ve been thinking about conflict, violence and peace my whole life. It was constantly people talking about it at home and then the everyday experience of fear of bombings and shootings. I wanted to write about it as a journalist when I left school and trained to be a reporter, but I ended up taking the long way route, doing a PhD on US foreign policy before refocusing to research the impact of conflict on young people later.

TBC: Could you share some experiences?

SML: I grew up in a militarized and segregated society. Heavily armed police and British soldiers patrolled regularly. I understood that as a Catholic/Nationalist, I was a ‘second class citizen’. I didn’t know any Protestants until I went to university. I went to segregated schools, Catholic schools. When I was a kid, I heard bombings, heard about shooting deaths almost daily [and] frightening political rhetoric on television and radio. We were stopped at army checkpoints fairly often and sometimes searched. Those things had an impact on me. However, I was fortunate that I didn’t lose any close family members in the conflict. When I went to university, I got to know people who’d been involved in one way or another and had lost loved ones; I could see how it had affected their lives and mental health. That shaped me profoundly as well.

TBC: What do you think peace is? Can you define it?

SML: Peace to me involves a number of different things. It’s multi-dimensional. I can say [that it is] the end to the armed conflict, but that’s not the only element of peace. Peace also involves justice. In a peaceful society, there are positive, non-discriminatory [and] inclusive relations between people across differences.

All kinds of people are thriving and have [their] well-being, including their education, economic opportunities, health [and] political voice regardless of identity or background. The environment is valued and protected. Those are all elements of a peaceful society. The final part is related to reconciliation. [It’s about] healing the wounds [and] trauma of the past, addressing past atrocity, discrimination, oppression [and] recognizing it in a way that allows people to feel validated and [be able] to move forward in their lives.

TBC: You said you were a journalist before, but why did you choose to be a professor?

SML: I worked for a couple of years as a reporter before I went to university. At that time, I thought I was going to be a lawyer, but I quickly changed my mind. I started studying English and politics because those were the things I loved learning about. I also wrote stories for the student newspaper and hoped to work writing about politics. I realized I wanted to go more in-depth into understanding conflict and politics. I felt I couldn’t do [that] through journalism. I’m not sure [when] I really decided to become a professor. It sort of evolved. I had an undergraduate professor called Mick Cox who really pushed me to apply for a Masters [degree] which wasn’t at all on my radar. I am really grateful to him for that push.

Eventually, I earned a master’s degree in international relations. At that stage, I still wasn’t thinking of being a professor, but I got the opportunity, through my professor at Cambridge in England, to come to Butler to teach while I was doing my PhD work. I was going back and forth to Washington, DC, to do interviews for my PhD. After that, I started teaching at Butler when I was 27.  

TBC: It has been 30 years since you started teaching at Butler. Do you have an educational philosophy?

SML: As each student is different, they are all special and impressive. I have tried to engage with students as adults, as equals, morally and ethically. As human beings who live in the world, they have knowledge and ideas that are just as valuable as mine, from which I can learn. Equally, I call on them to be open to others’ ideas and experiences, engage in really deep listening and analytically unpack the structural forces and dynamics that shape people’s beliefs, behaviors, choices and non-choices over time. I encourage students to understand different stories, perspectives and realities and empathize with each other and those in conflict zones, even if it challenges their values and assumptions.

TBC:  What advice do you have for Butler students? 

SML: [The] first piece of advice is [to] follow your passions. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Try courses outside your comfort zone. Travel. The second one is [to] seek a mentor. It’s something I regret [not doing]. I didn’t ask for help enough when I was a student. At the time, I didn’t know how to do it. I was extremely lucky that the professors I met saw promise in me and pushed me. Apart from that, it is difficult to offer advice because the educational landscape is so different. I graduated from my doctoral program with little to no debt. I worked to support myself, yes. But I couldn’t have done it without government grants that covered all tuition and other costs. American education seems to be evolving to further privilege the already wealthy. 

TBC: What is the meaning of life for you?

SML: If you are asking, what keeps me going? Humor. Seeing the funny side of, even absurdity in, things. Additionally, connection. A spiritual sense of connection is important to me, and I pursue that through yoga and meditation. Giving and receiving love and acceptance from friends and neighbors are the factors that keep me sane and moving. 

I’m incredibly lucky to be able to spend my life getting paid to read books, talk about them, do research and discuss them with young people who have a lot of great ideas from diverse backgrounds. The meaning of life is a mystery, but it’s got something to do with “doing your little bit of good where you are,” as Desmond Tutu said.