SYLLABUS

RLST 4820 FALL 2004

RELIGION AND NONVIOLENCE Prof. Ira Chernus

This course will examine some of the connections between religion and the tradition of principled nonviolence. The course will focus on the two main sources of the nonviolence tradition as it is practiced in the U.S. today: Christian nonviolence in U.S. history and Gandhi’s teaching of nonviolence in India. We will also study a classic critique of nonviolence offered by the Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.

REQUIRED READINGS:

Staughton Lynd & Alice Lynd, eds., Nonviolence in America

Raghavan Iyer, ed., The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi

(Ghandi book available at Lefhand Bookstore as of September 8)

These readings are available at the Lefthand Bookstore, 1200 Pearl Street, downstairs. They are usually open noon-9 weekdays; call 443-8252 to check exact hours. They take cash or check; no credit cards.

Ira Chernus, American Nonviolence: The History of an Idea is available now online (linked from online version of this syllabus) and in print in October.

Other readings will be available online, linked from the online version of this syllabus at:

http://spot.colorado.edu/~chernus/Courses/4800/SyllabusFall2004.htm

SCHEDULE OF READING ASSIGNMENTS:

Aug. 26: CHERNUS, "Introduction," "The Anabaptists"

Aug. 31: CHERNUS, "The Quakers"; LYND: xi-xvii, 1, 2 (Assignments in LYND are by Document number; roman numerals refer to the Introduction)

Sept. 2: CHERNUS, "The Abolitionists": LYND: xvii-xxi, 3, 4; readings: Whipple, "Evils of the Revolutionary War"

(there is a blank page preceding the Whipple article; scroll down to get to first page of article)

Sept. 7: CHERNUS, "Henry David Thoreau"; LYND: 5

Sept. 9: CHERNUS, "Anarchists"; LYND: xxi-xxiii, 7 - 9,

Sept. 14: LYND: 10 - 12

Sept. 16: CHERNUS, "World War I: The Crucial Turning Point": sections on ‘The Progressive Era’ and "World War I’; LYND: xxiv-xxv, 13 - 15

Sept. 21: CHERNUS, "World War I: The Crucial Turning Point": sections on ‘The 1920s,’ ‘Christianity and Nonviolence,’ and ‘Debates of the 1930s; LYND: xv-xxviii, 16 - 18

Sept. 23: CHERNUS, "Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement"; LYND: 37A&B

Sept. 28: FIRST EXAM DUE IN CLASS SEPTEMBER 28.

Sept. 30: Fall Break — No Class. Please make time to watch the film Gandhi

during the break. It is nearly 3 hours long, but you won’t be bored.

Oct. 5 : CHERNUS: "Gandhi": Introduction and section on ‘Truth is God’; GANDHI: 136, 137, 140-147, 61, 65, 70, 75-83, 104, 123, 125, 126 (Assignments in Gandhi are by Selection number. There is a glossary in the READINGS to help you with terms. There is an excellent glossary at http://www.mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/glossary.htm)

Oct. 7 : CHERNUS: "Gandhi": section on ‘Truth and Nonviolence’; GANDHI: 148-155, 157, 161-177, 182, 130, 132

Oct. 12: CHERNUS: "Gandhi": section on ‘Satyagraha’; GANDHI: 186-194

Oct. 14: GANDHI: 195-210, 213, 219

Oct. 19: GANDHI: 35, 37, 40, 48, 223-264

Oct. 21: CHERNUS: "Reinhold Niebuhr": Introduction and section on ‘Human Nature and the Limits of Reason’; Selections from Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society, Section 1

 

Oct. 26: CHERNUS: "Reinhold Niebuhr": section on ‘The Limits of Religion’;

Selections from Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society, Section 2;

Summary Of Moral Man And Immoral Society Chapter 3;

Selections from Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society, Section 3

Oct. 28 : Selections from Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society, Section 4

Nov. 2: CHERNUS: "Reinhold Niebuhr": section on ‘Coercion and Violence’; Selections from Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society, Section 5 and Section 6

Nov. 4: Selections from Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society, Section 7; CHERNUS: "Reinhold Niebuhr": ‘Niebuhr’s Later Career’

Nov. 9: CHERNUS, "A. J. Muste": LYND: 19-21; readings: Kitterman, "Those Who Said No to the Holocaust"; Sharp, "Norway and Berlin";

SECOND EXAM DUE November 9

Nov. 11: LYND: xxviii-xxxv, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31

Nov. 16 CHERNUS, "Martin Luther King, Jr.": LYND: 27, 32

Nov. 18: LYND: xxxv-xl, 33, 35, 38-41

Nov. 23: CHERNUS, "Barbara Deming"; LYND: 44, 45

Nov. 30: LYND: 50-56

Dec. 2: CHERNUS, "Thich Nhat Hanh"

Dec. 7: CHERNUS, "Conclusion"; LYND, xli-xlvi

 

 

EVALUATION:

Your grade will be based on your demonstrated ability to understand the ideas discussed in the course. You will have three ways to demonstrate your understanding:

1. Participation in class discussion.

2. Two brief (1 page) reflection papers, to be presented in class. Each paper will discuss one of the daily reading assignments. You are not to summarize the day's reading. You are to identify one question arising from the reading that you think is interesting for class discussion. State the question clearly, then give your answer and your reasons for your answer in a logical argument. (A sign-up sheet will be circulated in class for presentations.)

3. Two take-home essay exams (due Sept. 28 and Nov. 4) and a take-home essay final exam (due Dec. 13). The questions will be distributed well in advance. There will be no in-class exams in this course.

 

OFFICE HOURS:

I will have office hours on Thursday, 12:30 – 2:00, in Humanities 284. But I’ll be glad to talk with you whenever I am around the office, or to make an appointment: chernus@colorado.edu; 303-492-6169 (office); 720-494-9011 (home).

If you need any special accommodations to enhance your learning in this course, I would be glad to discuss that with you.