READING GROUP: CISM Discussion
Group Event
Rob Wallace (English, UCSB)
Thursday, March 3 / 4:00 PM / Free
1835 Ellison, UCSB
Drawing on the work of important proponents of non-violence
such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as
theorists who engage in the conceptual and theoretical
framework of the philosophy of non-violent living such
as Walter Benjamin, Mark Juergensmeyer, Mary Kaldor,
and Giles Gunn, we will address questions such as: how
should citizens respond to terrorism, racism, and other
forms of psychic and physical violence? How can we “live
together”, to take up the challenge issued by
the late Jacques Derrida in his last visit to UCSB in
2004? And what is the role of the intellectual in non-violent
praxis and theory? Starting from the assertion that
non-violence does not equal passivity, this discussion
seeks to constitute an action in and of itself and to
explore the potential for non-violent praxis. Finally,
we will frame our discussion with Sarah Vowell’s
essay “John Brown’s Body”-- a work
which will get us thinking about the way in which music
can be involved in (non)violence. Readings will be made
available at the Arts Library Reserve desk.
NOTE: it is not necessary
to do the reading in order to participate! Reading discussed
will include brief selections from Juergensmeyer, Gandhi’s
Way: A Handbook of Conflict Resolution, King, A Testament
of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches, Benjamin
“Critique of Violence”, Kaldor, Global Civil
Society, Gunn, Beyond Solidarity, and Vowell, “John
Brown’s Body.”
Refreshments will be provided.
