Columbia Interactive - Nonviolent Power in Action, E-Seminar 1, Gandhi: Discovering the Power of Nonviolence

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E-Seminars in This Series

E-Seminar 2
Martin Luther King Jr.: An American Gandhi

E-Seminar 3
Gandhi's Disciples

Nonviolent Power in Action
A Series of Three E-Seminars

Nonviolent Power in Action
E-Seminar 1, Gandhi: Discovering the Power of Nonviolence
Taught by: Dennis Dalton

Description

E-Seminar Description

Gandhi: Discovering the Power of Nonviolence is the opening e-seminar in a series of classes based on Dennis Dalton's extremely popular and chronically oversubscribed course on the nature and power of the Gandhian political philosophy and practice of nonviolence, which Dalton has taught since the late 1960s.

In this e-seminar, Professor Dalton examines the roots of Gandhi's ideas, from Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy, to the Jainist culture of his native Gujarat in India. Dalton then discusses Gandhi's concept of satyagraha—the power of nonviolence—and traces its development beginning in 1906, when Gandhi was in South Africa. The e-seminar examines Gandhi's use of satyagraha against the British colonial rulers in South Africa and India, particularly by examining the salt march of 1930.

E-Seminar Length:	3-5 hours
Start Date:	Anytime
Credits:	Not-for-Credit
Prerequisites:	None
Moderator:	None
Columbia Students, Faculty, Staff, and Alumni:	FREE

Interested in this e-seminar? Go to the e-seminar now*. Note: Columbia students, faculty, staff, and alumni will need to use their University Network ID (UNI) to access e-seminars.

E-Seminar Objectives | Outline | Instructor's Background | Recommended Reading | Technical Requirements

E-Seminar Objectives

•	Acquire an appreciation for the power of Gandhi's legacy to inspire political action in a wide range of geographical locations and varied cultural situations throughout the twentieth century.
•	Understand the basic elements of Gandhian political philosophy, and their roots in eastern and western philosophy.
•	Examine the first major political action staged by Gandhi in India, the salt march, as an historical event and evaluate it as an expression of Gandhian practice.
•	Gain a general knowledge of Gandhi's biography.

Outline
1. Introduction
2. The Roots of Nonviolence
      India
      Israel
      Russia
      United States
      Conclusion
3. Satyagraha
      The South African Roots of Satyagraha
      Satayagraha and Indian Politics
      Nonviolence: Theory versus Practice
      Nonviolent Actions against the British
4. Gandhi and Mao

Instructor's Background

Dennis Dalton is Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University, where he has been lecturing on the history and philosophy of nonviolence since the late 1960's. Dalton is a favorite lecturer among students on campus, and his course on nonviolence is chronically oversubscribed.

Dalton went to India for the first time in 1960, only twelve years after Gandhi was assassinated, and had the opportunity to become well acquainted with several key associates of Gandhi, who were still alive at that time. He has been back numerous times since then and has expanded his areas of research to include other disciples of Gandhi, including Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as some of the lesser-known righteous gentiles of the second world war.

Dalton himself has participated in a variety of political movements, including the civil-rights movement, the movement against apartheid in South Africa, the movement against the war in Vietnam, and the campaign for nuclear disarmament.

Recommended Reading
Ackerman, Peter and Jack DuVall. A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000.

Dalton, Dennis. Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.

Gandhi, Mahatma. Selected Political Writings. Edited by Dennis Dalton. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1997.

Sharp, Gene. The Politics of Nonviolent Action. Manchester, New Hampshire: Porter Sargent Publishers, 1973.

Technical Requirements
You will need to use a computer with Internet access to complete this course. We recommend the following minimum configurations:

IBM-COMPATIBLE PC
Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP, or NT
64 MB of RAM (128 recommended)
Monitor: 800x600 resolution recommended
Connection: Internet service and 56K modem minimum
Browser: Internet Explorer 4 or above (Internet Explorer 5 strongly recommended) or Netscape 4.7 or above
Sound Card (if you can hear audio you have a sound card)
Plug-ins: RealPlayer 7 or later; Flash Player 5 or later; Acrobat Reader 5 or later
(all plug-ins are free)

MACINTOSH
MAC OS 8.6 or higher
64 MB of RAM (128 recommended)
Monitor: 800x600 resolution recommended
Connection: Internet service and 56K modem minimum
Browser: Internet Explorer 5 or above or Netscape 4.7 or above
Sound Card (if you can hear audio you have a sound card)
Plug-ins: RealPlayer 7 or later; Flash Player 5 or later; Acrobat Reader 5 or later
(all plug-ins are free)

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