| Ira Chernus PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO AT BOULDER |
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
Staughton
& Alice Lynd, eds., Nonviolence
in
Ira
Chernus, American Nonviolence: The
History of an Idea
Mahatma Gandhi:
Selected Political Writings,
ed. Dennis Dalton
These readings are available at the Lefthand
Bookstore,
Other
http://spot.colorado.edu/~chernus/Courses/4800/index.html
Aug.
25: CHERNUS: Introduction and Chapter 1, “The Anabaptists”
Aug.
30: CHERNUS: Chapter 2, “The Quakers”; LYND: xi-xvii, 1, 2 (Assignments in LYND are by Document
number; roman numerals refer to the Introduction)
Sept.
1: CHERNUS: Chapter 3, “The Abolitionists”:
LYND: xvii-xxi, 3, 4
Sept.
8: CHERNUS: Chapter 5, “Anarchists,” LYND: xxi-xxiii, 7 - 9,
Sept.
13: LYND: 10 - 12
Sept.
15: CHERNUS: pp. 75 - 82; LYND: xxiv-xxv, 13 - 15
Sept.
20: CHERNUS: pp. 83 – 90; LYND: xv-xxviii, 16 – 18
Sept.
22: CHERNUS: Chapter10, “Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement”; LYND: 37A&B
Sept.
27: FIRST EXAM DUE IN CLASS SEPTEMBER 28.
Please
make time to watch the film Gandhi. It is nearly 3 hours long, but you won’t be
bored.
Sept.
29: GANDHI: 3 – 22; CHERNUS: pp 91 – 99 (There is a glossary in the GANDHI book
to help you with terms. There is a more
detailed glossary at http://www.mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/glossary.htm)
Oct.
4: CHERNUS: pp 99 – 103; GANDHI: 29 - 81
Oct.
6: CHERNUS: pp 103 – 110; GANDHI: 81 –
91
Oct.
11: GANDHI: 97 - 126
Oct.
18: GANDHI: 126 - 151
Oct. 20: CHERNUS: pp 111 – 116;
Oct. 25: CHERNUS: pp 116 - 119;
Oct. 27:
Nov. 1: CHERNUS: pp 119 - 122;
Nov. 3:
Nov. 8: SECOND EXAM DUE
Nov.
10: CHERNUS: Chapter 9, “A. J. Muste”:
LYND: 19-21;
Nov.
15: LYND: xxviii-xxxv, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31
Nov.
17: CHERNUS: Chapter 11, “Martin Luther
King, Jr.”: LYND: 27, 32
Nov.
22: LYND: xxxv-xl, 33, 35, 38-41
Nov.
29: CHERNUS: Chapter 12, “Barbara Deming”; LYND: 44, 45
Dec.
1: LYND: 50-56
Dec.
6: CHERNUS: Chapter 13, “Thich Nhat
Hanh”
Dec.
8: CHERNUS: “Conclusion”; LYND, xli-xlvi
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. 27 and
Nov. 8) and a take-home essay final exam (due Dec. 12). The questions will be distributed well in
advance. There will be no in-class exams in this course.
I
will have office hours on Monday and Thursday, 2:00 – 3:00, 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.