Exploring Peace and Nonviolence: The Third Option
Oberlin College, Fall '07, EXCO105
Wed. 7:30-9:00 in King 341

Many of the reading assignments for this class may be found in Solutions to Violence and Strength Through Peace. Both of these fine books are edited by Colman McCarthy and are well worth having. They are available from:

The Center for Teaching Peace
4501 Van Ness Street NW
Washington, DC 20016
202-537-1372

The film Bringing Down a Dictator, as well as the excellent film series A Force More Powerful, are available from York Zimmerman Inc.

Class #1 - September 12th - Introduction

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Four Basic Positions
At the Core of Nonviolence
Axioms of Nonviolence
If We Listen Well
Nonviolence and Moral Courage

Assignment #1 - due on or before September 19th

Answer the following questions:

What do you want the world to look like?
What do you need to know to make it that way?
What do you want the topics of classes 3 through 12 to be?

Choose 10 topics from the syllabus, or feel free to add your own suggestions.
Your assignment need not be more than one page long.
 

Class #2 - September 19th - Leo Tolstoy

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Personal Responsibility
Public Opinion
Advice to a Draftee
Patriotism or Peace
Carthago Delenda Est

Class #3 - September 26th - Dorothy Day

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Poverty and Precarity
From Undeclared War to Declared War
Pacifism
Catholic Worker Positions
Refusing Tax Exemption

Class #4 - October 3rd - Mohandas Gandhi

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Ahimsa
Gandhi and His Myths
My Faith in Nonviolence
The Doctrine of the Sword
The Great Trial

Class #5 - October 10th - Martin Luther King

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Declaration of Independence from the War in Vietnam
Loving Your Enemies
Pilgrimage to Nonviolence
King and Pacifism

Class #6 - October 17th - Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Islam and Nonviolence
The Khudai Khidmatgars
Building a Nonviolent Military Structure
The Peshawar Disturbances

No Class October 24th - Fall Break

Class #7 - October 31st - Nonviolence in the Face of War

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

The Danish Resistance
Le Chambon-sur-Lignon
Let Our Husbands Go
The Dutch Resistance
A Nonviolent Struggle for Human Rights in Vietnam
Moral Authority Is Greater Than Military Might

Class #8 - November 7th - Nonviolence in Extraordinary Situations

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Three Cheers for Grandma
Nonviolent Response to Assault
Hotel des Mille Collines
Humanitarian Intervention
The Boy Who Kissed the Soldier

Class #9 - November 14th - Criminal Justice & Capital Punishment

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Driving While Black
True or False
Joe Giarratano Waits For Justice
Herrera v Collins
The Innocence Project
The Right Treatment of Violence

Assignment #2 - due on or before November 28th

Everyone suggested at least one topic in the first assignment that will not be covered in these classes.  Pick a topic that will not be covered, something you are passionate about, find something written about it, and write a report on it.  Be sure to include a bibliographic or web page reference.

Your assignment need not be more than one page long.
 

Class #10 - November 28th - Nonviolent Political Movements

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Nonviolent Action in Serbia
Nonviolent Struggle in China
The Nonviolent Revolution That Surprised the World

Class #11 - December 5th - Nonviolent Strategy - part 1

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Resolving Conflicts Nonviolently
Why People Obey
Preparing_for_Nonviolent_Struggle
Basic Elements of Nonviolent Strategy
Political Jiu-Jitsu

Class #12 - December 12th - Nonviolent Strategy - part 2

Please read the following and be ready to discuss them in class:

Dictatorships Have Weaknesses
Exercising Nonviolent Power
Planning Nonviolent Strategy
Nonviolent Methods
Withdrawing Sources of Power

- The End -