Approaches to Peace
Fall 2004
Class Meetings: WF 8:30-9:45. Michael Cronogue, S.S.E.
Office Hours: Tuesday 9:00- 11:00 a.m. and by appointment Klein #112 x2205
mcronogue@smcvt.edu
Purpose and Objectives of the Course:
This course provides an essential introduction to the interdisciplinary field of peace and justice. Emphasis will be placed on the Catholic tradition. Objectives include learning critical thinking skills. The course is intended for all students interested in the fundamental issues of peace, justice and conflict resolution in their lives.
Required Texts:
Easwaran, Eknath. 1997. Gandhi the man- the story of his transformation. Berkeley (CA): Blue
Mountain Center.
Glover, Jonathan. (1999). Humanity: A moral history of the twentieth century. New Haven: Yale
University Press.
Gourevitch, Philip. (1998). We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our
families. New York: McMillan.
Hanh, Tich Nhat. (1998). Being peace. New York: Parallax.
Hersey, John. (1973) Hiroshima. New York: Random House.
Lebatz, Karen (1986). Six theories of justice. Minneapolis: Augsburg.
Course Requirements and Expectations:
1. Read with understanding all the assigned readings. The readings are listed in the course outline below; they will be discussed on the date written on the syllabus. Some readings are available on reserve at the library. Please make sure that you bring you book(s) to class.
2. Your final grade will be based on the following:
1. Quizzes 25%
2. Papers 25%
3. Project 25%
4. Class Participation 25%
Quizzes: Every Friday there will be a quiz on the assigned readings for the week. Any notes that you have taken on the readings can be used for the quiz. You are to use only notes that you have taken; if I discover that you have copied or borrowed notes from another student you will receive a zero for this portion of the course.
Papers: I have assigned six (7) reflection papers over the course of the semester. The papers will incorporate the readings and your reflections on the topic. Some paper topics will be assigned; others can be written on the topics of your choice. The papers are to be no more than four (4) pages in length. They are to be typed and double-spaced. Late papers will not be accepted.
Project:
Virtue, by contrast, we acquire, just as we acquire crafts, by having previously activated them. For we learn a craft . . . becoming builders, e.g., by building and harpists by playing the harp; so also, then, we become just by doing just actions, temperate by doing temperate actions, brave by doing brave action. (Aristotle).
I try to build community-based learning into each course that I teach. You will be required to do a project that will bring issues of peace and justice to the Saint Michael's College community. Your project should show insight and understanding, reflect originality and organization, and I want to see that you worked on the project. Your challenge is to impact the mind and the hearts of our community. You are required to submit a written self-assessment of your project. We will talk more about this as the semester progresses.
Participation: Since this class has a small number of people, your active participation is essential. At the mid-point and at the end of the semester, you will be asked to evaluate your participation and contribution to the class.
Class Assignment
September 3 First Class
Wednesday
September 5 Rwanda
Friday read: Glover. pp. 1-44
Gourevitch. pp. 5-43
September 10 Rwanda
Wednesday read: Gourevitch. pp. 47-131
September 12 Rwanda
Friday read; Gourevitch. pp. 132-171; 342-353
Conflict Theory:
September 17 The Personal Level
Wednesday read: Freud, Sigmund. "Why War?"
Lorenz, Konrad. "On Aggression."
Thucydides. “The Melain Dialogue.”
Meade, Margaret. "War is Only an Invention - Not a Biological
Necessity."
Merton, “Auschwitz: A Family Camp”
Reflection #1 due
September 19 The Moral Equivalent of War
Friday read: Broyles, “Why Men Love War”
James. “The Moral Equivalent of War”
http://www.emory.edu/EDUCATION/mfp/moral.html
September 24 A Feminist Perspective
Wednesday read: Brock-Utne. ”Educating for Peace: A Feminist Perspective”
Reardon, Betty. “Sexism and the War System.”
Reflection #2 due
September 26 The Structural Level
Friday read: Glover. pp. 119-152
Merton. “Auschwitz: A Family Camp”
October 1 Social Process
Wednesday read: Glover. pp. 155-199
October 3 Ideology
Friday Read: Glover. pp. 283-314
October 7 Jeff Halper
Tuesday “What if the Road Map Fails? A View from the Ground”
7:30 p.m. McCarthy Recital Hall
October 8 Ideology
Wednesday Read: Glover. pp. 317-398
October 10 Ideology
Friday read: Huntington. “The Clash of Civilizations”
Lewis. “The Roots of Muslim Rage”
Reflection #3 due
October 15 The Bomb
Wednesday read: Hershey
Building "Negative Peace:"
October 17 Conflict Resolution
Friday
October 22 Just War
Wednesday read: Gourevitch. pp. 177-255
O'Brien, William. “The Conduct of Just and Limited War”
United States Catholic Conference.. The Challenge of Peace: God's
Promise and Our Response. p. 31-48
October 24 Interventions
Friday read: Gourevitch. pp. 256-341
Walzer, "The Politics of Rescue”
October 29 World Government and International Law
Wednesday read: Nussbaum. “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism”
Barash. “World Government”
Reflection #4 due
Building “Positive Peace”- Justice
October 31 Theories of Justice: Utilitarianism, Rawls, Nozick
Friday read: Lebatz ch.1-3
November 5 Jesus:
Wednesday read: "The Sermon on the Mount"
Wink, Walter. "Jesus and the Domination System." (reserve)
November 7 Theories of Justice: Marxism, Christian Realism, Liberation Theology
Friday read: Lebatz. ch. 5,6.
November 12 Catholic Social Justice
Wednesday read: Bernadin. “The Catholic Moral Vision in the United States.”
Bernadin. “A Consistent Ethic of Life”
Reflection #5 due
November 14 Human Rights:
Friday read: Cranston, Maurice, "Are There any Human Rights?”
Schultz. “Like the Home-Born among You”
Peace Movements, Transformation and the Future
November 19 Nonviolence
Wednesday Easwaran
November 21 Nonviolent Resistance
Friday read: Thoreau, Henry. "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience"
Muste, A.J. “Holy Disobedience”
Sharp, Gene. "Civil Resistance as a National Defense"
November 26 Thanksgiving Break (No Class)
Wednesday
November 28 Thanksgiving Break (No Class)
Friday
December 3 Peace Movements
Wednesday read: Young, Nigel. "Peace Movements in History”
Boulding, Elise. "Building Utopias in History”
King. “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”
December 5 The Politics of Responsibility:
Friday read: Falk, Richard. "On Humane Governance"
Havel, Vaclav. "The Politics of Responsibility"
Walzer, Michael. "Dirty Hands”
December 10 Personal Transformation
Wednesday read: Hanh
Reflection #6 Due
December 12 Last Class
Friday
Final Reflection #7 Due