DEMOCRACY & DISOBEDIENCE

Philosophy 20A

A Legal Studies Course

Instructor: Professor Andreas Teuber teuber@binah.cc.brandeis.edu

Department of Philosophy BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY Waltham, Massachusetts 02254 Tel. 781-736-2787

Office Hours: Tuesday & Fridays 1:30-2:30 PM and by appointment

Teaching Assistants Kirk Buckman buckman@binah.cc.brandeis.edu Office Hours: To be announced Odysseus Makridis makridis@binah.cc.brandeis.edu Office Hours: To be announced

The course focuses on the relation of the individual to the state and, in particular, on the theory and practice of non-violent resistance (civil disobedience), its aims, methods, achievements, and legitimacy.

Course Description

Texts

Articles on Reserve

Course Requirements

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The course is divided into five parts:: I. An opening section in which the examples of Antigone, Socrates, Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King will be discussed.

II. A second section which will include a closer look at the strategies of resistance employed during the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War, as well as a search for answers to the question: "For what purposes and under what circumstances can civil disobedience be justified?" - including, but not limited to, disobedience for publicity, disobedience as an act of conscience, as a First Amendment right, as the violation of a law thought to be unconstitutional, and as a plea for reconsideration of an "immoral"law in light of a shared standard of justice. The second section also includes a general examination of the nature of obligation and an examination of the relationship between obligation and consent.

III. A third section which will explore the role of civil disobedience in a democratic society, the conflict between authority and autonomy and the grounds for giving one's allegiance to any state at all.

IV. A fourth section devoted to an examination of several contemporary examples of non-violent resistance, in particular, non-violent resistance in opposition to world trade agreements in Seattle, Washington, D. C. and Prague, disobedience in China and Northern Ireland, and the use and/or abuse of civil disobedience at abortion clinics.

V. And a concluding section devoted to a study of the future of democracy in this country and throughout the world.

back to top

TEXTS

Primary texts will be available at the University Book Store:

Sophocles, ANTIGONE, Dover
Plato, THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF SOCRATES, Dover
Thoreau, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND OTHER ESSAYS, Dover
King, LETTER FROM A BIRMINGHAM JAIL, A. J. Muste Institute
Walzer, WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN, Marsilio Press
Wolff IN DEFENSE OF ANARCHISM, Harper and Rowe
Bedau, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IN FOCUS, Hackett
Levine, TOWARD A FAIR AND DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY, Rowman and Littlefield
Barber and Schulz (Editors), JIHAD VS. MACWORLD, Ballantine
         Also two specially prepared Reading Packets: Civil Disobedience: Theory & Practice and Democratic Theory: Problems and Solutions are at the heart of the required reading for the course and will be on electronic reserve and on reserve in Goldfarb Library. A list of these articles is provided below..

back to top

ARTICLES ON ELECTRONIC RESERVE

The following articles are available on the WEB through Electronic Reserve (ELRS) accessible by Password. These articles are available to you on the WEB if you enter the appropriate code information. You may download any artcile for your own personal use:

Articles on Reserve:

1. Doris Hunter, On the Bhagavad-Gita
2. Reuven Kimelman, Non-Violence in the Talmud
3. Leo Tolstoy, Non-Resistance to Evil: Letter to Ernest Crosby
4. David Daube, The Women of the Bible and Greece
5. Margaret Hope Bacon, Non-Violence and Women
6. Thich Nhat Hanh, Feelings and Perceptions
7. Gene Sharp, Non-Violent Action: An Active Technique of Struggle
8. Gene Sharp, The Technique of Non-Violent Action
9. Allan Solomonow, Can Non-Violence Work in the Middle- East?
10. Liane Ellison Norman, Peace Through Strength
11. Jesse Wallace Hughan, Pacifism and Invasion
12. Mohandas K. Gandhi, Non-Violent Resistance
13. Harris Wofford, Jr., Non-Violence and the Law: The Law Needs Help
14. Harrison Tweed, Bernard Segal, & Herbert Packer,
         Civil Rights and Disobedience to Law
15. William Taylor, Observations on the Strategies of Protest
16. Louis Waldman , Civil Rights-Yes!; Civil Disobedience-No!
17. Albert Bigelow, Why I am Sailing This Boat into the Bomb- test Area
18. Bertrand Russell, Civil Disobedience and the Threat of Nuclear Warfare
19. Declaration of Conscience and A Call to Resist
20. Carl Cohen, Law, Speech, and Disobedience
21. Richard Boardman. Letter to Local Board No. 114
22. Tom Jarrell, Confessions of a Two-Time Draft Card Burner
23. Charles Wyzanski, Jr.. On Civil Disobedience and Draft Resistance
24. Noam Chomsky, Lewis Feuer, Paul Goodman, & Irving Kristol,
         A Symposium on Civil Disobedience and the Vietnam War
25. Richard Wasserstrom, The Obligation to Obey the Law
26. Fred Berger, Symbolic Conduct and Freedom of Speech
27. A. John Simmons, Tacit Consent
28. John Rawls, Legal Obligation, Fair Play, and Civil Disobedience
29. Ronald Dworkin, Political Obligation and Community
30. Alasdair MacIntyre, Is Patriotism a Virtue?
31. Hanna Pitkin, Obligation and Consent - II
32. David Lyons, Obedience to Law
33. Ronald Dworkin, Civil Disobedience
34. Brian Barry, Is Democracy Special?
35. Susan Mendus, Losing the Faith: Feminism & Democracy
36. Ronald Dworkin, Civil Disobedience and Nuclear Protest
37. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (excerpts)
38. Peter Singer, Equality and Its Implications
39. Richard Norman, Does Equality Destroy Liberty?
40. Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty
41. Frithjof Bergmann, Freedom and Society
42. Gerald Dworkin, Autonomy
43. Elizabeth Wolgast, Pornography and the Tyranny of the Majority
45. Robert Paul Wolff, In Defense of Anarchsim
46. Robert Dahl, After the Revolution

back to top

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Class Times

The course meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thuirsdays: 1:10 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Writing

Four medium-length papers are required on topics growing out of the readings and class discussions. The papers should be about 5-6 pages in length, preferably typewritten. Paper topics will be available at least ten (10) days before a paper is due. It is wise to make a copy of a paper before handing in the original. If you are working on a computer, make a back-up. Paper topics will be available at least ten (10) days before a paper is due.

Examinations

There will be a quiz in class. There will be no other written examinations, final or otherwise.

Grading

Grading will be broken down as follows: 30% for your strongest essay, 25% for your next best effort, 20% for the next, and 15% for the essay which is least successful of the four. The quiz will count 10%.

Attendance

Although class attendance will not be taken directly into account in considering an overall grade for the course, attendance is required, and failure to attend may result in a lowering of your grade. You are allowed two unexcused absences.

Films

Two films will be shown during the semester: "The Montgomery Bus Boycott" from EYES ON THE PRIZE and STOPPING HISTORY, a documentary about protest against the proliferation of nuclear weapons on Friday, November 7th. (times to be announced).

Small Group Discussions

In a course this large discussion groups can be very helpful. Occasional discussion sections will be scheduled especially after paper topics are handed out and before a paper is due. Discussion groups will give you an opportunity to explore some of the complex issues of the course in greater depth.

Office Hours

I will hold office hours from 2:00 to 3:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays and by appointment. My office is located in Rabb, Room 306. If you wish to leave messages for me, you may do so at the Philosophy Department Office, Rabb 305, or by phone at 736-2788.

back to top

BACK TO

ANDREAS
TEUBER'S
HOME PAGE