The election is now done and dusted. Most appropriately the same applies to the former government, whose remnants and other artifacts, but not its ongoing repercussions, will now gather dust on the shelves of history. A change of government does not end politics, either as conversation or action, but only changes the style and form of them. The issues remain. For example, immigration and attitudes to people from other cultural backgrounds remains as a live issue. The Tampa will revisit, whether the proximate cause is war or changes brought about by global warming. There is an important connection between education and immigration, and it is the question in the first instance as to whether we value the person or what the person is able to do.

Peace is a paradigm. It acquires the urgency in some minds with the possibility of the survival of the planet, not least the well being of the individuals that make up the composite groups, including nation states. When I wrote repeating what I had heard that “the new paradigm is the old paradigm”, as so often happens I did not know what I was talking about. The argument is that science, especially modern physics, represents a new paradigm beyond matter and energy (change and force fields) extending to consciousness. That extrapolation seems sensible to me because how could physics, or any other science be done without awareness, memory, languages (including mathematics) and insight. Some physicists do not want to take that next step. Now you appreciate why I did not know what I was talking about.

Professor Michael Nagler, and other peace scholars, believe that peace is premised on nonviolence. Now this is fine, except that contrary to my assumptions, nonviolence is not easy. It is like Tom Peters says in another context, “The soft stuff is the hard stuff”. You have just got to look at the examples of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, or San Suu Kyi. Since we live in a social context and milieu, or social interices, or something like that, we act either to reinforce social structures, to change them or to resist them, consciously or otherwise, so we are all political actors. Nagler makes the point that peace is positive, much like growth, otherwise it is conflict waiting to happen with a destructive and catastrophic potential. Violence is a common, almost inevitable outcome for the reason, so it is suggested, because it represents the existing dominant paradigm. Our unreflected thoughts lead us into unconsidered behaviors, so we are left puzzled about the results.

It is best to rely for a survey over this material to somebody who may be able to provide a reliable guide. As you may know already that Professor Michael Nagler’s lectures can be watched on youtube. The first set of lectures is PACS 164A and the second is PACS 164B. A suggested place to start is to look at the first lecture for 164B. As it turn out I have the syllabus for the second set of lectures given at The University of California, Berkeley. I do not know any other way but to dump it in full since the original is on a Word document:

PACS 164B NONVIOLENCE TODAY Spring, 2007

Course Syllabus

What has been done, what has been learned since the great movements of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.? In this course we explore the potential and actual role of nonviolence, which Gandhi called “the greatest power at the disposal of humanity,” in an increasingly violent world

PACS 164A is not technically a prerequisite to this course, but if have not had prior exposure to nonviolence theory read The Search for a Nonviolent Future as necessary background. Building on our explorations of principled nonviolence in 164A, we will be looking at insurrectionary struggles, reform movements, human rights efforts and anti-militarism, among areas in which non(-)violence has been or is being used. In part Four we will look at current struggles against corporate globalization and in Part Five the ‘state of the art’ of nonviolent theory and other aspects of a “cultural creative” paradigm shift, including, as it does, the growth of nonviolent consciousness. We will look at some historical background for these areas, and attempt to provide ourselves with tools to analyze what is going on and envision how it could be even more effective. The era of visionary leaders being over (at least for now!), we will deal more with strategic non-violence than we do in the introductory course.

As in the introductory course, there will be a midterm, a final, and a term paper, the latter based on any aspect of contemporary nonviolence. I would like to help you get an earlier start on that paper, and will be discussing that shortly. Since this course deals with contemporary developments, we will draw much more frequently on recent films and especially on guest speakers, many of whom are ‘in the field’ carrying out these struggles as we speak. For this reason we will have to adjust our schedule to make use of opportunities as they arise, and you should keep up with the readings so that we can be flexible with guests and other resources as they come up.

A xerox reader is available at Copy Central on Bancroft, divided into sections that follow the schedule, with supplementary resources. Finally, remember to check courseweb regularly for periodic announcements, “real time” developments in nonviolence, and other resource materials.

Week	Topics	Readings (abbreviations below)
Part One:	Introduction

1. 1/16-18

Basic terms and major trends. Some historical bkgd.: NV insurrection in El Salvador, 1944 and its reverberations

Deats in Wink, “Global Spread of Active NV (and page 1);” ZKA Intro, Part I. Reader: Section One; Nagler (for non-‘A’ students)

2. 1/23-25	Historical background (contd.): U.S. antiwar/peace movements from radical pacifism to Vietnam. Films: The Good War, (If time allows: “Peace Pilgrim”)	Wink (to be announced) L&L: Chaps. 10, 12, 15A, 16, 26, 33A, 35B, 42B
Part Two:	Insurrectionary and Freedom Struggles

3. 1/30-2/1

Films, Where There is Hatred; NV resistance to Hitler; classifying campaigns

Reader: Section Two; ZKA II

4. 2/6-8

Final discussion of film; filling the Communist vacuum: From Prague Spring to the ‘color’ revolutions.

ZKA III Schock (make your own sel’n. to complement section in Reader)

5. 2/13-15

Film, Bringing Down a Dictator; The rise of “People Power:” disaster in Beijing; stalemate in Burma; victory in the Philippines

ZKA IV.7&9, V.11, VI. 13, VII.14

Part Three: Anti-Militarism and Related Struggles

6. 2/20-22

The Larzac Satyagraha; Film clip: “Peace Pilgrim”

Reader: Section Three

7. 2/27-3/1

Shanti Sena and its offspring (TPNI) with guest speaker: David Hartsough, NP (etc.); Criminal Justice and Human Rights

Gish, Fwd., Intro., pp. 15-70, 281-5; EB (Chaps. 2,4-7, 9,11); See also www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org

8. 3/6-8

Animal rights & early environmentalism: Tabasco, The Chipko Movement

(relevant sections in Reader)

9. 3/13-15

General Review ►MIDTERM: Thursday, March 15

10. 3/20-22

Midterm diagnostic NV thinkers and actors: guest speaker: John Lindsey-Poland, FOR

Wink Chaps. 1,2,5,7,8; 14,17,18,20; 24,26,28; 31, 39-46

Part Four: “Globalization from Below”

12. 4/3-5

The “Seed Satyagraha,” river protection, and other anti-corporate struggles in India

Reader: Section Four

13. 4/10-12

The MST and other alternative (CP) mvts. Direct action ag. globalization institutions: Clips from Strong Roots

http://www.mstbrazil.org/

Part Five: Toward a Nonviolent Culture

14. 4/17-19

NV theory, training and organizing

Reader: Section Five

15. 4/24-26

“Compassionate Listening” and forgiveness; Post-conflict reconciliation. Guest speaker: Miki Kashtan, NV Communication

Reader: “From Violence to Wholeness” section

16. 5/1-3

4. Toward a culture of peace; the “new” spirituality, with guest speaker: Michael Lerner (probable)

(readings to be announced)

Booklist:

EB = Elizabeth Boardman, Taking a Stand (New Society Publishers)

Gish = Arthur Gish, Hebron Journal: Stories of Nonviolent Peacemaking

L&L = Lynd and Lynd, Nonviolence in America: a Documentary History

Wink = Walter Wink, Ed. Peace is the Way

ZKA = Zunes, Kurtz and Asher, Nonviolent Social Movements: a Geographical Perspective

and recommended:

Nagler = Michael Nagler, The Search for a Nonviolent Future

MvG = McConnell and van Gelder, Editors, Making Peace: Healing a Violent World

Schock = Kurt Schock, Unarmed Insurrections: People Power Movements in Nondemocracies