Community Conference Room, Thomaston Public Library, Thomaston, Maine.

Course begins Monday September 21, 2026, does not meet Monday October 12, and ends Monday November 30, 2026.

Course Registration begins September 1.

Click here for a course syllabus containing a week-by-week description of subjects, readings, discussions, and activities.
 

Course Summary
This ten-week course, held Mondays during the Fall of 2026, 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.

Because the goal of the course is to develop the practical solidarity necessary to ethically and effectively engage in civil disobedience, participants’ commitment to prepare thoroughly for and participate in each meeting is essential.

Apply to the Course