Registration Starts September 1
Civil Disobedience: Theory, Design and Practical Implementation in Groups is a new 10-week course facilitated by Dr. James Cook (Sociologist, PhD University of Arizona 2000 — email jamescook@audacitycat.com). It will be held on the 2nd floor Community Conference Room of the Thomaston Public Library in Thomaston, Maine on Mondays from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. The course begins Monday September 21, meets weekly except for Indigenous Peoples’ Day October 12, and ends Monday November 30.
There will be no financial charge to participate in the course. Online registration for the course will begin on Tuesday, September 1.
A Course Syllabus with readings and activities is available at https://audacitycat.com/civil-disobedience-course/.
Course Summary
This ten-week course begins by exploring the foundational ethics and moral imperatives of civil disobedience through the works of Thoreau, Gandhi, and King before transitioning into the political dynamics of nonviolent power and strategic campaign design. Students will examine the legal mechanics of the justice system, participate in “Know Your Rights” roleplays, and learn tactical skills ranging from reconnaissance to the affinity group model of decentralized organization. The course also provides intensive training in operational risk management, nonviolent discipline under pressure, and the critical logistics of jail support and media strategy.
Participants should participate in this course for the abstract purpose of familiarizing themselves with the political concepts and tools that create the necessary friction to challenge unjust structures. The purpose of this course is also practical: study groups will emerge from the course with greater knowledge of the conceptual elements of disobedience, experience with techniques used in civil disobedience campaigns, increased solidarity, and a written Group Action Protocol containing group agreements regarding the ideological, organizational, and technical elements of a civil disobedience campaign. Each week will feature a focal topic. However, each week will begin with time to reflect on and consolidate information from previous weeks and invite personal reflections. At the end of each week, we will make progress developing a Group Action Protocol for a real campaign of civil disobedience.