ENGL151-04, First Year Writing Seminar: Thinking About Violence, Writing About Peace, Spring 2013

Abstract

What should people do, both individually and collectively, when others bring violence upon them? Do humans have a right to self-defense, even if that means meeting violence with more violence? When we turn to history for answers, the most common opinion from the societies of the ancient Mediterranean world to Medieval Christendom to contemporary America is that force must be met with force. Some would interpret this almost universal support of self-defense as an indication that humans have an inalienable right to use force to defend themselves. Yet, there have been some notable dissenting views, beginning with Socrates and Jesus and continuing in the modern period with Thoreau, Tolstoy, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. In this course, you will examine and write thoughtfully about the various forms of non-violent resistance that these thinkers espoused, contextualizing them in the violent histories of their times. By confronting the radical nature of their political and social projects, which vigorously challenge the status quo of their societies, you will also confront and develop your own views about violence and non-violence, all the while sharpening your critical thinking skills and enhancing the quality and persuasiveness of your writing.