Nonviolence: The History of an Idea

Ira Chernus, Professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has written an introductory book on the history of the idea of nonviolence in the United States. American Nonviolence: The History of An Idea is now available from Orbis Books and is also available free online.

Chapters include: The Anabaptists; The Quakers; William Lloyd Garrison and the Abolitionists; Henry David Thoreau; The Anarchists; World War I: The Crucial Turning Point; Mahatma Gandhi; Reinhold Niebuhr; A. J. Muste; Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Barbara Deming; and Thich Nhat Hanh.

Harvard's very popular course on justice now available to you online

From their Web site:  Justice is one of the most popular courses in Harvard’s history. Now it’s your turn to take the same journey in moral reflection that has captivated more than 14,000 students, as Harvard opens its classroom to the world.

In this twelve part series, [Michael] Sandel challenges us with difficult moral dilemmas and asks our opinion about the right thing to do. He then asks us to examine our answers in the light of new scenarios. The results are often surprising, revealing that important moral questions are never black and white.

This course also addresses the hot topics of our day—affirmative action, same-sex marriage, patriotism and rights—and Sandel shows us that we can revisit familiar controversies with a fresh perspective.

What Bystanders Do When They Witness Violence

What Bystanders Do When They Witness Violence

Facing History and Ourselves used a "Talk of the Nation" episode as the centerpiece for a lesson plan about bystanders to violence.  We typically discuss this in the first session of the Class of Nonviolence and come around to it again towards the end.  

Another good resource for this topic is the Phil Ochs song, "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends":

US Nobel Peace Prize Anagram Worksheet

Got new software yesterday -- Anagram Genius is the program Dan Brown used to concoct the anagrams in Angels and Demons and now we have it as well. It's first workout was to conduct a learning activity about the Nobel Peace Prize. Barack Obama receives his on December 10, providing a great opening for discussion. Twenty-one US citizens have received the prize since its inception in 1921 and this worksheet challenges the student to unscramble anagrams of their names.

I didn't include the three US organizations who received the prize. Here they are:
Is ill-mannered top banana contaminating?
Poisoner terrifies connivently enchant wrathful paranoia.
I'm an infected, mesmeric eviscerator.

The first sheet of the handout just includes the anagrams. The second sheet has biographies of the 21 recipients, plus an answer key at the bottom. If this is done as a class exercise, you can chop off the answers, if you prefer, and hand them out later. Download the PDF of the Anagrams HERE.

If you are facilitating the Class of Nonviolence,  this exercise would make a nice accompaniment to the session on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 (his Nobel lecture makes good reading!)  It could also be used with the session on Gandhi, who did not receive the prize. The Nobel Prize Organization has a lively article about Gandhi on their Web site. A good class discussion could be: Should Mohandas Gandhi have received the Nobel Peace Prize? Why or why not?

And the answers to the anagrams above are:
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (1997)
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (1985)
American Friends Service Committee (1947) 

Brain Teasers

Engaging, transforming and transcending conflict often involves creative thinking. We can train our brains to “think outside the box.” One way is by solving puzzles. Any puzzle will do— anagrams, suduku, crosswords— or brain teasers. We've come up with a one page handout that includes 27 brain teasers. Play with the letters & numbers to find a common word or phrase. Here's an example:

EEEEEEEEEEC

You can download a PDF file of the handout HERE. If you are facilitating the class of nonviolence, handouts like these can be given to the people who show up early. Or, they can be incorporated into the class itself. In the session on Gandhi, for example, we often hand out a sheet of optical illusions to illustrate that there can be more than one version of "truth."

The answer to the puzzler above, by the way, is Tennessee. Ten E - C. Get it?

Conflict Revolution

View more presentations from Victoria Pynchon.

This slide show is from Victoria Pynchon's Settle It Now Negotiation Blog, and is based on a presentation by Dr. Ken Cloke, Conflict Revolution: Mediating Evil, War, Injustice and Terrorism. (I recommend expanding the slide show to full screen to view it properly.)

In Lesson 5 of the Class of Nonviolence, on feminism, peace and power, we typically discuss power relationships; the diagram on slide 26, power, justice and decision making, is an interesting expansion on the "power wheels" that we typically use to launch our discussion of power. Good information here about social change, negotiation -- good info!

How to celebrate the fall of the wall | National Catholic Reporter

How to celebrate the fall of the wall | National Catholic Reporter

Sr. Rose Pacatte wrote a great article for the National Catholic Reporter on how to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall through movies. Her blog is a great source for current films that can often be used to teach peace and Justice.

Pigs Prove to Be Smart, if Not Vain

Pigs Prove to Be Smart, if Not Vain 

 The 8th and final session of the Class of Nonviolence is about  violence and animals. This article from the New York Times covers the new scientific field of "pig cognition." It says in part:

"Even in domesticity, pigs have retained much of their foreboar’s smarts. Dr. Byrne attributes pig intelligence to the same evolutionary pressures that prompted cleverness in primates: social life and food. Wild pigs live in long-term social groups, keeping track of one another as individuals, the better to protect against predation. They also root around for difficult food sources, requiring a dexterity of the snout not unlike the handiness of a monkey." [whole article]

Looking for more about animals? Some good stuff in the New Yorker: 

Hear Them Roar: A brief about Spain granting some apes human rights and a roundup of current books about animal rights.
Swingers: Bonobos are celebrated as peace-loving, matriarchal, and sexually liberated. Are they? 
Birdbrain: The woman behind the world’s chattiest parrots.

 Here's one from Wired Science: Clever Crows Prove Aesop’s Fable Is More Than Fiction
If the crow story interests you, here is a TED video about "The Amazing Intelligence of Crows" with Joshua Klein:

Understanding and Combating War

Understanding and Combating War

This is a resource provided by the Voices Education Project. It is a complilation of writings, music, drama and art inspired by the work of Lucy Dougall in her book War and Peace in Literature: Prose, Drama and Poetry which Illuminate the Problem of War. Here's what you'll find (click on the word "contents" in the menu):

Rina Abbasi Iranian); Anna Akmatova (Russian); Maya Angelou (American); Margaret Atwood (Canadian); W.H. Auden (British/American); Wendell Berry (American); Berthold Brecht (German); Marc Chagall (Russian/French); Stephen Crane (American); Maria Deyana (Croatian); Ralph Waldo Emerson (American); Diana Ferrus (South African); Kahlil Gibran (Lebanese); Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (American); Garrison Keillor (American); Mary Kimani (Kenyan); Krishnamurti (Indian); Denise Levertov (British/American); Vachel Lindsay (American); Holly Near (American); Pablo Neruda (Chilean); Phil Ochs (American); Robert Phillips (American); Playing for Change; Major Michael Davis O’Donnell (American); Violeta Parra Chilean); Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (Tibetan); Tom Paxton (American); Leroy V. Quintana (American); Carl Sandburg (American); Ben Shahn (Lithuanian/American); Edwin Starr; Richard Stine (American); Simonides (Greek); Sting (British); Wislawa Szmborska (Polish)

 

3 new books about the death penalty

On October 24, Austin, Texas will host the 10th annual march to abolish the death penalty (2-5 pm on the southside steps of the Texas State Capitol, 11th & Congress, Austin.) It's a good time to explore this issue,  covered in the 7th class of the University Essays for the Class of Nonviolence  with 5 excellent readings.

Over the past few months that peaceCENTER has published three new anthologies about the death penalty:

Capital Ideas: 150 Classic Writers on the Death Penalty, from The Code of Hammurabi to Clarence Darrow, Susan Ives, editor, with a foreword by Joan Cheever Learn More & Buy

End of the Line: Five Short Novels About the Death Penalty, Susan Ives, editor. Includes: The Last Day of a Condemned Man, by Victor Hugo; Lois The Witch, by Elizabeth Gaskell; The Dead Alive, by Wilkie Collins; Billy Budd, by Herman Melville and The Seven Who Were Hanged, by Leonid Andreyev Learn More & Buy 

Death Sentences: 34 Classic Short Stories About the Death Penalty. Susan Ives, editor, with a foreword by Jay Brandon and an afterword by Roger C. Barnes, Ph.D. Learn more & buy. 

These three books are more about public philosophy than public policy. They explore who governments decide to kill, how they justify these decisions and the effect of state-sanctioned killing on society.

What are Human Rights?

A really nice short video that defines Human Rights, which we typically discuss during lesson six of the Class of Nonviolence.

Reconsider Columbus Day

There's really not an ideal place to discuss Columbus Day in the Class of Nonviolence, although it fits best in lesson 7, where we generally talk about war. Instead, take advantage of the day itself to discuss alternative views of Columbus. Several good books that can be added to a library or curriculum are:

Lies My Teacher Told Me About Christopher Columbus: What Your History Books Got Wrong, by James W. Loewen. This colorful 32" x 21" poster includes artwork and writings from primary sources on the early history of the Americas, perspectives of people who were here first, and analysis of historical myths.

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, also by James W. Loewen, covers both the arrival of Columbus and the first Thanksgiving.

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, Edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson. More than 90 essays, poems, interviews, historical vignettes, and lesson plans reevaluate the myth of Columbus and issues of indigenous rights. Rethinking Columbus is packed with useful teaching ideas for kindergarten through college.

Who gets what and why

"Distributive justice is not only a central issue of moral and political philosophy, but also an object of common-sense moral reasoning. Everyone is sensitive to the question of his/her share of the common good. Even those who get the best piece of the social pie are in need to justify the actual model of distribution. It has become a truism that most people (especially in the transition countries) experience their own social position as "unjust", relying on certain intuitive principles of distributive justice." from the Distributive Justice Web site

This is an incredible site, online since 2001, that engages you in the theory of distributive justice, via a game (depicted below), forum, newsletter, mailing list, interviews and a solid discussion of the various theories of the field. The site hasn't been updated in a while but it is an excellent introduction to an important topic. Be sure to read about the theory and play the game.

We would use this in lesson 3 of the Class of Nonviolence, when we discuss Dorothy Day and poverty, especially with the essay "Poverty and Precarity." 

Dancing to the beat of a different rumba

My peaceCENTER colleague Rosalyn Collier roped me into dinner and a movie, the movie being "Strictly Ballroom," a 1993 Australian film about ballroom dancing. "Not at all my cup of tea," I complained. "You love it. Trust me," she countered. She was right.

Scott, a young competitive ballroom dancer, is inspired to improvise in a rumba competition. His elders are incensed: "There are no new steps," grimly admonishes the head of the dance federation. His teachers lament that if everyone could make up steps they wouldn't need teachers and where would that leave them?   The theme? A life lived in fear is a life half-lived. The film is funny, beautiful, sad, uplifting  and thought-provoking.

Strictly Ballroom would be an eccentric yet appropriate  film to show along with lesson 7 of the Class of Nonviolence, where we discuss civil disobedience. Although the disobedience isn't exactly of the civil variety, the message is the same: conscience has precedence over the rules.

Walden: a Game

The Interactive Media Lab at USC is developing Walden, a game that simulates the experiment in living made by Thoreau at Walden Pond in 1845-47, allowing players to walk in his virtual footsteps, attend to the tasks of living a self-reliant existence, discover in the beauty of a virtual landscape the ideas and writings of this unique philosopher, and cultivate through the gameplay their own thoughts and responses to the concepts discovered there.  [read rest of article]

In the Class of Nonviolence we read Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" in lesson 7, and such a game would, of course, fit in well there. It would also complement lesson 8, where we discuss nonviolence and animals, but also usually talk about caring for the earth. His message of living simple and close to nature fits in well here. Can't wait until it's released!

Active U.S. Hate Groups

Active U.S. Hate Groups

The Southern Poverty Law Center counted 926 active hate groups in the United States in 2008. Only organizations and their chapters known to be active during 2008 are included. All hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.

This is a very cool  and useful interactive map that tracks not only hate groups but also reported incidents.

One New Book, Three New Covers

The 16-week University Essays for the Class of Nonviolence is available as a free download at the peaceCENTER's Website. (It's a PDF file) If you prefer it in trade paperback format, that is also now available, directly from our printer for $7 + shipping. You can also download a free PDF of The 8-week Class of Nonviolence or order the trade paperback directly from the printer for $5 + shipping. And the Facilitator's Manual for the Class of Nonviolence is available for purchase from our printer and on Amazon.com; learn more about it and read a free sample chapter on our Web site.

We've also updated the covers so they match -- same books, just new packaging!

Nature Makes Us More Caring, Study Says

Want to be a better person? Commune with nature. Paying attention to the natural world not only makes you feel better, it makes you behave better, finds a new study to be published October 1 in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. [read article]

We'd probably use this material in the first session of the Class of Nonviolence, where we discuss the nature of violence and nonviolence. It would also slot nicely into the 8th and final session; although the main topic in noviolence and animals, we usually expand the discussion to include the relationship between nonviolence and the environment. Here's a video summarizing the study results:

The People Speak - Coming to History Channel

Democracy is not a spectator sport. Using dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans, THE PEOPLE SPEAK gives voice to those who spoke up for social change throughout U.S. history, forging a nation from the bottom up with their insistence on equality and justice. Narrated by Howard Zinn and based on his best-selling books, A People's History of the United States and Voices of a People's History, THE PEOPLE SPEAK illustrates the relevance of these passionate historical moments to our society today and reminds us never to take liberty for granted. Their Web site includes a video trailer and a classroom study guide.

Two new books!

The peaceCENTER has recently published two more book, "End of the Line: five short classic novels about the death penalty" and "Death Sentences: 34 Classic short stories about the death penalty."  Both are available from Amazon.com.

Bartleby & Benito: 2 Melvilles

It would benefit and uplift every student of nonviolence to read Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener (1853) and Benito Cereno (1855.)

Bartleby, a law clerk, answers every unwelcome request with a calm “I would prefer not to.” This resistance disconcerts his boss, who frets, “Had there been the least uneasiness, anger, impatience or impertinence in his manner; in other words, had there been any thing ordinarily human about him, doubtless I should have violently dismissed him from the premises.[. . .] This is very strange, thought I. What had one best do?"

As Cesar Chavez said, “Nonviolence is saying no to everything that is humiliating.” Bartleby practiced nonviolent resistance before it even had a name.

In Benito Cereno, an American ship captain is unable to see what to him is unthinkable and impossible: that the slaves are in charge of a troubled Spanish ship. He misinterprets every action, every gesture, every word that is spoken to conform to his ingrained understanding of how the world works, and he is wrong. It is a disturbing and enlightening short novel.

We're working on a new peaceCENTER book, End of the Line: Five short novels about the death penalty, which includes Herman Melville's Billy Budd, another excellent book that helps us think in new ways about that ambiguous place between law and justice. It should be ready for publication sometime next month. What classic literature do you find illuminating in terms of peace and justice?

Visualize Whirled Peas

Yikes! It's been a long time since this blog was updated. We've been busy working on editing new peaceCENTER books. Visualize Whirled Peas: vegan cooking from the San Antonio peaceCENTER is now available on Amazon.com. It includes 116 recipes that will help you create peace, salad, compassion, potatoes, community, and soup. We discuss the relationship between food and nonviolence in Session 8 of the Class of Nonviolence.

Fasts and Hunger Strikes: is there a difference?

Mia Farrow has embarked on a 21-day fast to “show solidarity” with the people of Darfur. "I'm just an actress. I'm not presuming anybody will care whether I starve to death or whether I go on a long hunger strike or what. But it's a personal matter. I can't be among those that watch - and I honestly couldn't think of anything else to do," she said. Both Farrow herself and the media sometimes call her action a fast and at other times a hunger strike. Is there a difference?

The type of fast that Farrow has embarked upon is often called a “political fast” to distinguish it from medical fasts (to cleanse the body of toxins, prepare for a medical procedure, lose weight) and religious fasts (Ramadan, Yom Kippur, Lent. . . .) Both fasts and hunger strikes involve abstaining from food. Insofar as its purpose is to draw attention to a cause and to rally the support of the faithful by jeopardizing the health and perhaps life of a beloved public figure, a fast has much in common with a hunger strike.

The difference, I think is subtle but important and perhaps best examined by looking at Gandhi’s fasts (he went on 17) and the fasts of Cesar Chavez.

Gandhi described four reasons for fasting: (1) To express his own deep sense of sorrow at the way those he loved had disappointed him; (2) To atone for the misdeeds of the people he lead; (3) A last-ditch attempt to stir deep spiritual feelings in others and to appeal to their moral sense and (4) to bring quarreling parties together.

He also defined when fasting was appropriate: (1) Fasts could only be undertaken against those people he loved; (2) fasts must have a concrete and specific goal, not abstract aims; (3) The fast must be morally defensible in the eyes of the target; (4) the fast must in no way serve his own interests and (5) the fast must not ask people to do something they were incapable of, or to cause great hardship.

Gandhi said about fasting:

“Fasting is an institution as old as Adam. It has been resorted to for self-purification or for some ends, noble as well as ignoble.”

“A complete fast is a complete and literal denial of self. It is the truest prayer.”

“A genuine fast cleanses the body, mind, and soul. It crucifies the flesh and to that extent sets the soul free.”

“What the eyes are for the outer world, fasts are for the inner.”

“My religion teaches me that whenever there is distress which one cannot remove, one must fast and pray.”


Like Gandhi, Cesar Chavez was willing to sacrifice his own life so that his work would continue and to ensure that violence would not be used. In 1968 Chavez went on a water-only, 25-day fast. When asked about his motivation for fasting, he said, “A fast is first and foremost personal. It is a fast for the purification of my own body, mind, and soul. The fast is also a heartfelt prayer for purification and strengthening for all those who work beside me in the farm worker movement. The fast is also an act of penance for those in positions of moral authority and for all men and women activists who know what is right and just, who know that they could and should do more. The fast is finally a declaration of non- cooperation with supermarkets who promote and sell and profit from California table grapes.”

Chavez fasted again in 1972 for 24 days, and in 1988 for 36 days. Speaking again about his motivations for fasting, Chavez said that farm workers everywhere were angry and worried that would not be a victory without violence. He fasted to prove that is was possible to win without violence. He said, “We have proved it before through persistence, hard work, faith and willingness to sacrifice. We can win and keep our self- respect and build a great union that will secure the spirit of all people if we do it through a rededication and recommitment to the struggle for justice through nonviolence.”

Turning specifically to the problem of pesticides, he continued "The evil is far greater than even I had thought it to be, it threatens to choke out the life of our people and also the life system that supports us all. This solution to this deadly crisis will not be found in the arrogance of the powerful, but in solidarity with the weak and helpless. I pray to God that this fast will be a preparation for a multitude of simple deeds for justice. Carried out by men and women whose hearts are focused on the suffering of the poor and who yearn, with us, for a better world. Together, all things are possible."

We would discuss fasting in lesson six of the Class of Nonviolence when we discusses Gene Sharp's list of 198 methods of nonviolent protest and persuasion. Sharp identified three types of fasts. The fast of moral pressure is undertaken to persuade a third party (St. Patrick fasted to urge the Irish king to deal fairly with the slaves, for example.) The hunger strike is considered coersive, especially when it is threatened to the death, which could cause civil unrest. The third type of fast Sharp calls the Satyagrahic fast, which requires spiritual preparation and is intended to convert an opponent. 

Here is a video about Mia farrow's fast. What do YOU think?

Guernica

Seventy-two years ago today, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, on April 26th, 1937, the Basque town of Guernica was carpet bombed by Fascist Italian and Nazi German forces. Three-quarters of Guernica was destroyed, and as many as 1,600 civilians were killed. The Spanish Republican government had commissioned Pablo Picasso to create a large mural for the Spanish display at Paris International Exposition in the 1937 World's Fair in Paris. Guernica, an 11 ft tall and 7.8 25.6 ft wide canvas, was installed in June. Picasso’s Guernica can be a springboard to a larger discussion about the tragedy of war, which we usually cover in lesson seven of the Class of Nonviolence.

The peaceCENTER has two videos that go into immense detail about Picasso’s painting. “Pablo Picasso’s Guernica” (Kultur, 1999, 45 minutes) is only available on VHS. It is part of the “Discovery of Art” series and although dry, is thorough and informative. Easier to find – and much livelier – is the Picasso episode in Simon Schama's “Power of Art” (BBC, 2007, 1 hour.) We’ve just ordered a third film – “Treasures of the World- Guernica: Testimony of War,” (PBS Home Video, 1999) that we have been eager to review.

This 9-minute video is an excerpt from “The Bombing of Gernika: The Mark of Man.” It includes a strange and compelling animation at the beginning, plus interviews with three survivors of the bombing.

Death penalty videos

The death penalty has been added as lesson seven in the new 16-week “university” Class of Nonviolence. There are many good documentaries on capital punishment, but these two online videos would work well with this lesson. The first is an hour-long TV program hosted by the Harris County, Texas Green Party. In a classroom situation it would be useful to show the 9-minute documentary produced by Irish television that is embedded starting at minute 3:50. It tells about the European Union’s efforts to put pressure on countries, including the US, to abolish the death penalty. The second video is a lecture given by Sr. Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking” speaking at Utah Valley State College.