Law, Conscience and Nonviolence (Georgetown Law Syllabus)

Law, Conscience and Nonviolence

Georgetown University Law Center

Fall Semester 2012

Prof. Colman McCarthy

Few of us went to schools where the methods, history and practitioners of nonviolence were taught. This course offers some remedial assistance. Amid so much of the world’s violence—whether among governments, armies, tribes, gangs, families and often deep in our own psyches—taking up the study of nonviolence, as it relates to law and conscience, seems at best an exercise in irrelevant fantasy. But is it? Every conflict or problem, wherever found or lurking, will be settled only through violent force or nonviolent force. Understanding Gandhi’s truth is the toil of a lifetime: “Nonviolence is not a cover for cowardice, but is the supreme virtue of the brave.” Our weekly meetings are little more than beginning explorations of some ideas and ideals that much of the world rejects. The purpose of the course is not to ask questions but to question the answers—the failed and craven answers of violence, the ones heaved up when disputes surface, sabers rattle and laws are cited to justify it.

Our class meetings will include a fair amount of discussion, debates, dissent and any other kind of fair-minded intellectual exchanges that seem fit. Let’s listen well to each other. Listening is an act of caring. Each class is based on readings from the course texts. Reading assignments will be announced in class for the following class. All are expected to read and absorb the assigned essays and be prepared to discuss them in class. We will NOT be rushing through the essays for the ignoble goal of covering ground. Professors who like to “cover a lot of ground” should be encouraged to coach cross country runners.

Solutions to Violence

Strength Through Peace: the Ideas and People of Nonviolence

Peace Is Possible

One paper of 6,000 words is required. Write with fresh, lively and convincing prose. The ideal paper is a mix of personal reflection, analysis, commentary and perhaps personal experiences. Break new ground. Avoid replowing the old depleted soil of term paper clichés. Write a paper that is uniquely and creatively your own, that no one else could write—because your thoughts, passions and bents belong only to you. Pick a topic you care about, one that involves law, conscience and nonviolence. Papers should be turned into the registrar. Extensions easily granted.

The most persuasive excuse for missing class is a death—yours of mine.

The paper counts for most of the grade, with the remainder based on what Eddie Stanky, the old Brooklyn Dodger second baseman, called “the intangibles.” These include heroically surviving the two hours of class time without hand-held devices or open laptops. If we’re going to have discussions and dialogue, we should give a strong try to be attentive to each other, not something from Apple or IBM.

Papers that are exceptionally well-written, creative and unique earn A’s. Papers that are above average, flow with well-hewn prose and have occasional flashes of creativity earn B’s. Papers that show only an ordinary command of language and are not especially striking either in style or substance earn a

C. Papers that give off a whiff or two of being dashed off the night before the due date or cause the professor to fall asleep after the third paragraph earn a D—or D- depending how long the sleep lasts,

AVAILABILITY

Phone: 202 537 1372. E-mail: cmccarthy@starpower.net. Address: Center for Teaching Peace, 4501 Van Ness Street, NW, Washington DC 20016. Appointments can be arranged easily.