Introducing peace and nonviolence advocate Professor Gene Sharp

Much of what I’ve learned about civic engagement (activism) comes from Dr. Gene Sharp, one of the most important thinkers on peace and democracy alive today. 

 

His work and ideas have revolutionized the way I see the world. I guess I’ve only known about him for two years at the longest. (I actually started studying the American Civil Rights movement as a history graduate student in 1994. Professor Sharp has brought much of what I've learned into focus.)

Below is some information on Professor Sharp:

NY Times article on Dr. Gene Sharp. “'That is straight out of Gandhi,’ Mr. Sharp said. ‘If people are not afraid of the dictatorship, that dictatorship is in big trouble.’”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/world/middleeast/17sharp.html

Wall Street Journal piece on Dr. Sharp. 

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122127204268531319.html

Read Dr. Sharp’s “198 Methods of Nonviolent Action.” I think about this 2-page document daily: http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations/org/198_methods-1.pdf

Most of Sharp’s books are free downloads in dozens of languages. http://www.aeinstein.org/

In my opinion, every Louisiana school teacher and professor should do the following this summer:

1.    Watch the biographical film about Dr. Gene Sharp, How to Start a Revolution: http://howtostartarevolutionfilm.com/

 
It’s available at Netflix, online as a purchase, and through inter-library loan. Many great ideas are illustrated in the film.

2.    Read Dr. Gene Sharp’s little book titled From Dictatorship to Democracy:
http://www.amazon.com/From-Dictatorship-Democracy-Gene-Sharp/dp/1846688396/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336702123&sr=8-2

I prefer printed books. It costs about ten bucks on Amazon.com.

The free book download is available here: http://www.aeinstein.org/organizations/org/FDTD.pdf

Thank you for reading.

Dayne