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PAX 588 Nonviolent Mobilization for Social Change (3 SH)
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Recent years have witnessed an unprecedented range and number of nonviolent campaigns and movements across the world. There is so much to learn from and contribute to! What does it mean take to create sustainable social change nonviolently? We will in the face of institutional and political resistance? What does it mean to work towards the vision of a nonviolent world? In this course, we look at the power of ordinary people to effect change through social movements using strategic nonviolence, direct action, community organizing, public activism, advocacy / lobby campaigns, and policy formation. The course will be framed by the theory and practice of social movements, mass mobilization and community organizing. These course frameworks will be interrogated within the social change systems of violence and nonviolence. From this backdrop, we will take a careful and critical look at nonviolent strategic action, grapple with the inherent tensions between principled and functional nonviolence, and explore the possibilities of creating nonviolent forms of power, identifying tactics, and designing plans for social transformation. The final section of the course will delve into advocacy, lobbying and methods for influencing public policy. Throughout the course, participants will have a choice to engage in a variety of assignments including reading reflections, presentations on nonviolence and religion, letter writing, applying nonviolent frameworks to real-life case scenarios or policy change, and facilitating nonviolence training. A weekend trip to Washington DC and advocacy. We examine the theory, practice, and research behind nonviolence; revisit and reframe classic debates; explore case studies and our own experiences; practice key assessment, planning, and tactical skills; and apply what we have learned to issues we care about. We also consider how nonviolence needs to synergize peacebuilding approaches in order to be effective.
In addition to engaging in classroom discussions and activities, readings and multimedia resources, and group research and presentations on real-life scenarios, opportunities to contribute to planning and carrying out nonviolent campaigns will be built into the learning experience. This includes a weekend trip to Washington DC, March 12-13, to participate in the advocacy and lobbying efforts with government representatives will be built into the learning experience.
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