THE POLITICS OF PEACEFUL WORLD CHANGE
PSC 327 SPRING 2016
Dr. Jeneen Hobby
MC, TTH 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Office Hours—TTH 3:30-4:15 p.m. and by appointment
Email: j.hobby@csuohio.edu
Phone: 875-9917
Office: Rhodes Tower 1742
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Promoting political change by peaceful means is no easy task given the history of human beings
on this planet. Yet, at a time that we almost despair of the possibility of peace we see the need
for peaceful change growing rapidly, and signs that it is a real possibility. No one, however,
knows exactly how to do it in all cases, or most of the time. Students will learn to think more
clearly about human problems at all levels of social organization: you will understand more fully
international problems and the organizational context in which they are addressed, and you will
be introduced to a series of practical skills and tools, such as nonviolent communication, and
nonviolent resistance, which may help deal with conflicts from the interpersonal level to the
world level. Although the methodology of this course can be applied to any problem, including
local and domestic issues, in this course we will be focusing on transnational and international
problems, and students are expected to do so in your choice of issues and policies.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
It is very important if you want to take this class to participate fully and consistently. Therefore,
all students should expect to attend all sessions of the course and to be on time at the start of
class. Emergencies and unforeseen situations do arise in our lives, but you are expected
to minimize them and to be responsible for them. More than two unexcused absences will result
in less learning for all of us and a poorer participation evaluation in the course.
All assignments must be completed on time. If you do not keep this agreement, your evaluation
will suffer. You are expected to read regularly so that you can enhance your understanding, and
can contribute to the understanding of others.
Evaluation will take place in the following way:
1. Two in-class quizzes based on the readings. Each quiz will be with 10% of the final grade. 10
short answer questions. Held on Feburary 16th and March 22nd. No make-ups.
2. Term paper on the theory and practice of nonviolence. I will post paper topics on Blackboard.
Approximately 10-12 pages of text, not including title page, abstract, or reference page. 40% of
the final grade. Due April 7th by 11:59 p.m. on Blackboard with Turnitin, the anti-plagiarism
service.
3. Final assignment—a paper analyzing what we learn and do in class about nonviolent
communication. I will post paper topics on Blackboard. Approximately 5-7 pages. 20% of the
final grade. Due May 6th by 11:59 p.m. on Turnitin.
4. Participation grade. Includes attendance, contributions to the group learning process, and inclass writing assignments, which we will occasionally have. In-class writing assignments cannot
be made up. They are not graded, but count towards the participation grade as completed. Worth
20% of final grade.
READINGS
The following books are required and available for purchase at the university bookstore, online,
or found in public libraries.
1) Ho-Won Jeong, Peace and Conflict Studies: An Introduction. Ashgate, 2000. A basic
book to get you up to speed on general International Relations theory of peace and
international violence and on some key global issues.
2) Marshall Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, 2nd edition.
PuddleDancer Press, 2003. The best resource on how to shift the way we communicate in
order to build and improve relationships, even with “enemies.”
3) Robert L. Homes and Barry L. Gan, eds., Nonviolence in Theory and Practice, Waveland
Press, 2012. An excellent selection of readings on the topic of nonviolence, both
theoretical and practical.
4) Sharon Erickson Nepstad, Nonviolent Revolutions: Civil Resistance in the Late 20th
Century, Oxford University Press, 2011. A study of six different nonviolent revolutions,
three of which succeeded and three of which did not. We will try to understand what the
ingredients for a successful nonviolent revolution are.
Academic Integrity: Honesty and integrity are values which are considered fundamental to
academic institutions. Plagiarism or cheating on an assignment are violations of these values, and
may result in dismissal from class and at a minimum will result in an F on the particular
assignment. Students must take care to use proper bibliographic citation methods in crediting the
work of others. When secondary sources are consulted, they must be accurately cited according
to the APA (American Psychological Association) Manual of Style. That includes material found
on the Web.
University policies on attendance, honesty, physical abuse, appropriate conduct, sexual
harassment, and irresponsible student behavior will be followed. You should be familiar with
these policies. None of these inappropriate behaviors or infringements will be tolerated.
Disability: Any student with a documented disability who needs to arrange accommodations
must contact both me and the office of disability services at the beginning of the term.
Grades will be calculated as follows:
A
95–100 points
A90–94 points
B+
86–89 points
B
83–85 points
B80–82 points
C+
75–79 points
C
70–74 points
D
60–69 points
F
below 60 points
SCHEDULE OF READINGS
WEEK ONE—January 18
T
Introduction
TH
Jeong, chapters 1 & 2
WEEK TWO—January 25
T
Jeong, chapters 3 & 5
TH
Jeong chapter 6
WEEK THREE—February 1
T
Jeong, chapter 7
TH
Jeong, chapter 8
WEEK FOUR—February 8
T
Jeong, chapter 9
TH
Jeong, chapter 10
WEEK FIVE—February 15
T
FIRST QUIZ
TH
Jeong chapter 12
WEEK SIX—February 22
T
Jeong chapter 13
TH
Jeong, chapter 16
WEEK SEVEN—February 29
T
Holmes and Gan, chapters 1-4
TH
Holmes and Gan, chapters 5-8
WEEK EIGHT—March 7
T
Holmes and Gan, chapters 9 & 10
TH
Holmes and Gan, chapters 11 & 12
WEEK NINE—March 14
SPRING BREAK—NO CLASSES
WEEK TEN—March 21
T
SECOND QUIZ
TH
Holmes and Gan, chapters 14 & 15
WEEK ELEVEN—March 28
T
Holmes and Gan, chapters 32 & 33
TH
Holmes and Gan, chapters 36, 41, 42, 45
WEEK TWELVE—April 4
T
Holmes and Gan, chapters 46, 47, 48
TH
Holmes and Gan, chapters 50-54
TERM PAPER DUE APRIL 7TH BY 11:59 P.M. ON TURNITIN (BLACKBOARD)
WEEK THIRTEEN—April 11
T
Nepstad, chapters 1 & 2
TH
Nepstad, chapter 3
WEEK FOURTEEN—April 18
T
Nepstad, chapter 4
TH
Nepstad, chapter 5
WEEK FIFTEEN—April 25
T
Nepstad, chapters 7 & 8
TH
Rosenberg, chapters 1-4
WEEK SIXTEEN—May 2
T
Rosenberg, chapters 5-7
TH
Rosenberg, chapters 8-13
FINAL PAPER DUE FRIDAY MAY 6TH BY 11:59 P.M. ON TURNITIN (BLACKBOARD)