Junior History Tutorial: The Radical Non-Violence Tradition
CSS 340
Spring 2026
| Section:
01
02
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This tutorial will focus on the radical non-violence political tradition from the French Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement. The class will begin by discussing Immanuel Kant¿s famous vision of perpetual peace as well as the technocratic internationalism of Saint-Simone. We will then transition to the United States to look at how Christian non-resistance informed the Abolitionist Movement against slavery. The middle sections of the tutorial will focus on the famous pacifist visions of Leo Tolstoy and Gandhi. We will then examine how philosophies of nonviolence shaped the political thought of Jane Addams and Bertha von Suttner -- two of the most famous anti-war advocates of the 19th/early 20th century. Next, the class shifts to World War II, which led to a decline of this tradition and conclude the class by examining how the philosophy of non-violence shaped the Civil Rights movement and, in particular, the political vision and social action of Martin Luther King Jr. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (College of Social Studies) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 - 3rd Quarter |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Immanuel Kant, PERPETUAL PEACE
Domenico Losurdo, NON-VIOLENCE: A HISTORY BEYOND THE MYTH BOOK
David Cortright, PEACE: A HISTORY OF MOVEMENTS AND IDEAS
Martin Luther King Jr, A TESTAMENT OF HOPE: THE ESSENTIAL WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
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Examinations and Assignments:
In Class Presentation ¿ 20%
Mid-term in class exam essay¿20%
Final Paper ¿ 40%
Class Participation ¿ 20%
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Course open to CSS juniors only.
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| Instructor(s): Steinmetz-Jenkins,Daniel Times: .....F. 02:00PM-04:00PM; Location: TBA |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 12 | Permission of instructor will be granted during the drop/add period. Students must submit either a ranked or unranked drop/add request for this course. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
| SECTION 02 - 4th Quarter |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
TBD |
Examinations and Assignments:
TBD |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Course open to CSS juniors only.
|
| Instructor(s): Steinmetz-Jenkins,Daniel Times: .....F. 02:00PM-04:00PM; Location: TBA |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 12 | Permission of instructor will be granted during the drop/add period. Students must submit either a ranked or unranked drop/add request for this course. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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