Civil Discourse & Social Change

Curricular Resources: Nonviolence

Reference List on Nonviolence

Peace globePhilosophy of Nonviolence

Barash, David (ed.), Approaches to Peace: A Reader in Peace Studies. Oxford University Press, 2009

Cortright, David, Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas.  Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Havel, Vaclav, “The Power of the Powerless,” Living In Truth. Faber and Faber, 1987.

Nagler, Michael, Is There No Other Way?: The Search for a Nonviolent Future. Berkeley Hills, 2001.

Schell, Jonathan, The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People. Metropolitan Books, 2003.

Thoreau, Henry David, Walden and Civil Disobedience. Penguin, 1983.

Tolstoy, Leo, Writings on Civil Disobedience and Nonviolence. New Society, 1987.

Wink, Walter (ed.), Peace is the Way: Writings on Nonviolence from the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Orbis, 2000.

Zinn, Howard (ed.), The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace. Beacon, 2002.


Strategy and Tactics of Nonviolent Action

Ackerman, Peter, Kruegler, Christopher, Strategic Nonviolent Conflict: The Dynamics of People Power in the 20th Century. Praeger, 1993.

Webel, Charles, and Galtung, Johan (eds.), Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies. Routledge, 2009.

Sharp, Gene, Power and Struggle (The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Part One). Porter Sargent, 1973.

Sharp, Gene, The Methods of Nonviolent Action (The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Part Two). Porter Sargent, 1973.

Sharp, Gene, The Dynamics of Nonviolent Action (The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Part Three). Porter Sargent, 1985.

Sharp, Gene, Paulson, Joshua, Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential. Extending Horizons, 2005. 


GandhiGandhi and Nonviolence

Bondurant, Joan, Conquest of Violence: The Gandhian Philosophy of Conflict. University of California Press, 1969.

Dalton, Dennis, Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action. Columbia University Press, 1993.

Easwaran, Eknath, Gandhi the Man. Nilgiri, 1978.

Gandhi, Mohandas, Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Dover, 1983.

Iyer, Rhagavan, The Moral and Political Thought of Mahatma Gandhi. Oxford, 1973.

Jack, Homer (ed.), The Gandhi Reader. Grove, 1964.

Nanda, B. R., Mahatma Gandhi: A Biography. Oxford University Press, 1981.

Parekh, Bhikhu, Gandhi: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2001.

Parekh, Bhikhu, Gandhi’s Political Philosophy. University of Notre Dame Press, 1989.

Rudolph, Lloyd, and Rudolph, Susan, Postmodern Gandhi and Other Essays. University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Woodcock, George, Mohandas Gandhi. Viking, 1971.


MLK speakingMartin Luther King Jr.

Washington, James (ed.), A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. HarperCollins, 1991.

Carson, Clayborne (ed.), The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. Grand Central, 2001.

Moses, Greg, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Philosophy of Nonviolence. Guilford, 1997.

King Jr., Martin Luther, Strength to Love. Fortress, 2010.

King Jr., Martin Luther, Why We Can’t Wait. Signet Classics, 2000.

King Jr., Martin Luther, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Beacon, 2010. 


Civil Rights Movement

Branch, Taylor, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63. Simon and Schuster, 1989.

Branch, Taylor, Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65. Simon and Schuster, 1998.

Branch, Taylor, At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68. Simon and Schuster, 2007.

Garrow, David, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2004.

Halberstam, David, The Children, Fawcett, 1999.

Lewis, John, and D’Orso, Michael, Walking in the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement. Mariner, 1999.


Thich Nhat HanhZen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh, Love in Action: Writings on Nonviolent Social ChangeParallax, 1993.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step. Bantam, 1991.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Touching Peace, Parallax, 1992.

 Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace. Parallax, 1987.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Creating True Peace: Ending Violence in Yourself, Your Family, Your Community, and the World. Free Press, 2003.

 Thich Nhat Hanh, The Art of Power, HarperOne, 2007. 


Religious Approaches to Nonviolence

Christian: Wink, Walter, Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination. Fortress, 1992.

Wink, Walter, Jesus and Nonviolence: A Third Way. Fortress, 2003.

Buddhist: Khong, Chan, Learning True Love: How I Learned & Practiced Social Change in Vietnam. Parallax, 1993.

Ghosananda, Maha, Step by Step: Mediations on Wisdom and Compassion. Parallax, 1992.

Sivaraksa, Sulak, Seeds of Peace: A Buddhist Vision for Renewing Society. Parallax, 1992.

Muslim: Abu-Nimer, Mohammed, Nonviolence and Peace Building in Islam: Theory and Practice. University Press of Florida, 2003.

General: Chopra, Deepak, Peace Is the Way: Bringing War and Violence to an End. Three Rivers, 2005.


Dalai LamaDalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Beyond Dogma: Dialogues and Discourses. North Atlantic, 1996.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Ethics for the New Millennium. Riverhead, 1999.

Chhaya, Mayank, Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic. Doubleday, 2007.

Iyer, Pico, The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Knopf, 2008.


Peacemaking

Hunt, Scott, The Future of Peace: On the Front Lines with the World’s Great Peacemakers.
HarperSanFrancisco, 2002.

Ingram, Catherine, In the Footsteps of Gandhi: Conversations with Spiritual Social Activists. Parallax, 1990.

Nusseibeh, Sari, Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2007.

Ram Dass & Bush, Mirabai, Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service. Bell Tower, 1992.


Peace symbol composed of people holding candlesPeace As Attainable Ideal

Boulding, Elise, Cultures of Peace: The Hidden Side of History. Syracuse University Press, 2000.

Fry, Douglas, Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace. Oxford University Press, 2007.


We would like to thank Dr. Bill Kelly from Communication Studies for the compilation of this list of resources.