Online Courses
The inspiring lectures of Prof. Michael Nagler, Introduction to Nonviolence and Nonviolence Today, were recorded and transmitted via webcast in 2006/2007 at the University of California at Berkeley, within the Peace and Conflict Studies program (PACS).
If you watch his lectures online, you will see that Prof. Nagler often refers to the “readers”. Below are the readers (in .PDF format) which are excellent complementary material to the courses and to our education on nonviolence. The size of the files are somewhat large, so while you are downloading please be patient. As the nonviolent soldier of Islam, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, said: “If I could summarize nonviolence in one word, it would be: Patience.”
Note: As we are currently working on an abridged version of the lectures, we would appreciate your input as to the parts you think are most meaningful. We’d love to hear from you!
Introduction to Nonviolence
(PACS 164A)
Readings:
Section I: Background and General Principles.
Syllabus (2.6 MegaBytes)
a) A conceptual framework for nonviolence
(10.5 MB)
b) ‘Science’ and ‘History’ 1 of 2 (13.4 MB);
2 of 2 (9.9 MB)
c) A new/old alternative: basic ideas of the Vedanta
(1.9 MB)
Section II: The Story Unfolds.
a) South Africa (11.5 MB)
b) India (5 MB)
Section III: The Western Experience of Nonviolence. (8.6 MB)
Section IV: The Legacy. (18.6 MB)
Mahatma Gandhi a Biography by B.R. Nanda (a very valuable book that is out of print)
1 of 2 (17.7 MB)
2 of 2 (17.7 MB)
Nonviolence Today
(PACS 164B)
Part 1: Syllabus, Other Resources and Introduction
(1.2 MB)
Part 2: Freedom Struggles; Nonviolent Insurrection
(2.5 MB)
Part 3: Anti-militarism and Related Struggles
(6 MB)
Part 4: “Globalization from Below”
(3.5 MB)
Part 5: Toward a Nonviolent Culture 1 of 2
(4.5 MB);
2 of 2 (5.4 MB)
PACS 164 A/B LAB
Meditation
The laboratory of nonviolence is within the human heart and within the human mind. For this, Dr. Nagler, while teaching Peace and Conflict Studies 164A and B at the University of California Berkeley would offer his ‘lab’ (meditation) at 8 am. While the college said that labs have to be “wet labs,” we think that kundalini qualifies. Like nonviolence, meditation has a scientific basis that overlaps with the wisdom traditions from every culture, a point of departure for much research taking place at the Metta Center!
In the following videos, Dr. Nagler shows us how to meditate.
If you are interested in learning more about the relationship of meditation and nonviolence, view our latest e-book, Meditation and Nonviolence.