Critical Conversations on Civic Issues: The Spring 2012 Faculty & Film Series

This semester we are offering this series

PEOPLE POWER: ACTIVISM FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Beyond the Classroom is offering a seminar and film series on “People Power: Activism for Social Change” that is open to all students (UNIV 399P, 1-credit) and the public. This series will explore the factors that lead to successful “people power” movements and citizen initiatives for social change. 

• What is “people power” and how can citizen activism advance positive social change on key civic issues?
• On what issues historically has “people power” made a significant impact?
• What are the lessons for contemporary civic activism today?

The series will draw directly on the perspectives of leading nonprofit and civil society activists through documentary films and formal presentations of successful “people power” initiatives for social change at the local, national, and global levels.  

The main themes of this spring’s series include:

• The principles and history of people power;
• The Arab Spring and beyond: The rise of people power movements in the Middle East.
• The power of the arts in people power movement;
• The role of people power initiatives to overcome environmental crises: National and global perspectives; and
• Rethinking the potential and limits to people power in the United States in the 21^st century!

VENUE & TIME : Beyond the Classroom Seminar Room, 1102 South Campus Commons, Building 1, Monday evenings from 7:00-9:00 pm, Spring Semester, 2012.

ACADEMIC CREDIT OPTION: Students may register for "UNIV 399F: Experiential Learning: Beyond the Financial Crisis" as part of a 1-credit option (REG/P-F/AUD basis) for this seminar series. In order to receive course credit, students are required to attend eight of the evening seminars, participate in the discussion session, review the background readings, and submit a 5-page critical reflection paper that analyzes the main causes of the global financial crisis, identifies possible solutions for solving this economic crisis at the global, national, and local levels, and highlights the key lessons for a new agenda for sustainable economic prosperity.

INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. James V. Riker, Director, Beyond the Classroom Living and Learning Program, University of Maryland, 1104 South Campus Commons, Phone: 301-314-6622; Fax: 301-314-6623; E-mail: jriker@umd.edu

 

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Proposed Seminar Schedule: Please check our calendar for updates.

THEME I: THE PRINCIPLES AND HISTORY OF PEOPLE POWER

Monday, January 30, 2012: Documentary Film: "A Force More Powerful"

 

A Force More Powerful is a documentary on one of the 20^th century’s most important and least-known stories – how nonviolent power overcame oppression and authoritarian rule. In South Africa in 1907, Mohandas Gandhi led Indian immigrants in a nonviolent fight for rights denied them by white rulers. The power that Gandhi pioneered has been used by underdogs on every continent and in every decade of the 20^th century to fight for their rights and freedom. In the 1960s, Gandhi’s nonviolent weapons were taken up by Black college students in Nashville, Tennessee. Disciplined and strictly nonviolent, they successfully desegregated Nashville’s downtown lunch counters in five months, becoming a model for the entire Civil Rights Movement. In India in the 1930s, after Gandhi had returned from South Africa, he and his followers adopted a strategy of refusing to cooperate with British rule. Through civil disobedience and boycotts, they successfully loosened their oppressors’ grip on power and set India on the path to freedom. In 1985, a young South African named Mikhuseli Jack led a movement against the legalized discrimination known as Apartheid. Their campaign of nonviolent mass action, most notably a devastating consumer boycott in the Eastern Cape Province, awakened whites to black grievances and fatally weakened business support for Apartheid. Reviewing a century often called the most violent in history, this documentary tells the story of millions of people who chose to battle the forces of brutality with nonviolent weapons – and won.

THEME II: THE ARAB SPRING AND BEYOND: THE RISE OF PEOPLE POWER MOVEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Monday, February 6, 2012:  Documentary Film: "Budrus"

Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat.  The movie is directed by award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha (co-writer and editor of Control Room and co-director Encounter Point), and produced by Bacha, Palestinian journalist Rula Salameh, and filmmaker and human rights advocate Ronit Avni (formerly of WITNESS, Director of Encounter Point).

While this film is about one Palestinian village, it tells a much bigger story about what is possible in the Middle East. Ayed succeeded in doing what many people believe to be impossible: he united feuding Palestinian political groups, including Fatah and Hamas; he brought women to the heart of the struggle by encouraging his daughter Iltezam's leadership; and welcoming hundreds of Israelis to cross into Palestinian territory for the first time and join this nonviolent effort. Many of the activists who joined the villagers of Budrus are now continuing to support nonviolence efforts in villages from Bil’in to Nabi Saleh to Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem.

Budrus includes diverse voices-- from the Palestinian leaders of the movement and their Israeli allies to an Israeli military spokesman, Doron Spielman, and Yasmine Levy, the Israeli border police captain stationed in the village at that time. While many documentaries about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict either romanticize the notion of peace, or dwell entirely on the suffering of victims to the conflict, this film focuses on the success of a Palestinian-led nonviolent movement.

• “A moving sliver of hope that nonviolent resistance may yet blossom out of violence” – New York Magazine.

• “A poignant chronicle…This inspiring documentary stresses peaceful resistance as the best means of conflict resolution” – Variety.

• “[Budrus] gives an enormous amount of hope… It’s a story which will have an impact and can help bring” [about] change” – Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan.

Monday, February 13, 2012:  Documentary Film: "Goodbye Mubarak"

On January 25, 2011, the world was captivated as thousands of protesters flooded Tahrir Square in Cairo, demanding an end to the regime of President Hosni Mubarak. But the ground for the protests had been laid in the weeks and months preceding the mass outpouring of opposition. GOODBYE MUBARAK! takes us to Egypt during the fall of 2010, in the run-up to legislative elections. What we discover is a revolution-in-waiting already simmering under the surface of Egyptian society.

Over several weeks, the documentary crew travels the country—from Cairo, to Alexandria, to the industrial city of El-Mahalla El-Kubra—introducing us to activists, politicians, and ordinary Egyptians. Activist Mahitab el Gilani walks through a market at night, urging people to sign a petition calling for the end of Egypt's draconian Emergency Law and for free elections. “If this conversation is broadcast on TV, we'll all be arrested,” one woman tells her. Later, a man she approaches says he hopes she makes it out of the neighborhood alive.

We also meet opposition candidates in the midst of their campaigns—feminist Gameela Ismail, liberal politician Ayman Nour (who was sentenced to five years in prison after winning election in 2005) and Muslim Brotherhood members Saad El Husseini and Hamdi Hassan. They may not agree on much, but all see endemic corruption, the repressive Emergency Law and the lack of political freedom as the key elements that must change if the Arab world's largest and most influential country is to move forward.

And while young, web-savvy activists get much of the credit for the demonstrations, GOODBYE MUBARAK! shows just how deep opposition to the regime ran in the months leading up to the revolution. “We only have corrupt and old leaders with nothing to offer,” says one angry pensioner. Another adds: “The solution is in the hands of our 12 million jobless kids. They need to go out, demonstrate, and overthrow the regime.” Within weeks, Mubarak's opponents—led by many of those we meet in this film—would be doing just that. GOODBYE MUBARAK! is an invaluable portrait of a crucial moment in Egyptian society.

Monday, February 20, 2012:  Documentary Film: "Fragments of a Revolution"

FRAGMENTS OF A REVOLUTION goes beyond the headlines and the tweets to tell the story of the protests that swept Iran in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential election. Directed by an anonymous Iranian living in exile, the film brings together clandestinely sent e-mails, online videos and footage shot by protesters in the midst of demonstrations.

FRAGMENTS OF A REVOLUTION is, of necessity, a highly unconventional documentary—one in which the director relies on anonymous correspondents within Iran and on YouTube footage. The director feels as though he or she has been living in a "virtual Tehran" for eight months—watching distressing images from the homeland and trying to reconstruct the story of what happened.

This unusual process leads to a film with an astounding immediacy. We alternate between events in Tehran and the anonymous director's attempts to make sense of them—until the two storylines converge in early 2010.

As the protest movement grows, we are privy to the immediate experiences of those on the ground: women picking up rocks to hand to protesters; people secretly filming police as they beat people, smash cars and target those in windows who are looking on; marchers coming under fire from rooftop snipers.

Finally, the protests die down, and the forced confessions and show trials begin. "My hopes have become ashes," says the film's director. But under those ashes, embers continue to glow.

FRAGMENTS OF A REVOLUTION is not the definitive, objective record of the powerful opposition movement that swept the country. But it is a remarkable and impressionistic inside view of the movement, through the images and words of those it most closely affected.

 

THEME III: THE POWER OF THE ARTS IN PEOPLE POWER MOVEMENTS

Monday, February 27, 2012:  Documentary Film: "A Soundtrack for a Revolution"

A fresh and exhilarating take on one of the most important social movements in American history! Soundtrack for a Revolution explores the Civil Rights struggle through the stirring songs that inspired a generation in this deeply moving documentary, legends of the fight for equal rights such as Congressman John Lewis, Julian Bond, Ambassador Andrew Young, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s widow, Coretta Scott King testify to the indispensable role that songs of rebellion and hope played in helping activists fight against the brutality and injustice in riveting studio performances, top contemporary artists including John Legend, Wyclef Jean, The Roots and Joss Stone reinvigorate and reinvent timeless songs like “We Shall Overcome” and “Wade in the Water.” Through a combination of historical footage, intimate interviews and heartfelt performances, Soundtrack for a Revolution makes an original, emotionally resonant contribution to the Civil Rights story. This stunning film is a testament to the vitality of music in the lives of those who strive for justice.

• “Illuminating and sometimes devastating…may very well be the finest, broad history on film of the Southern Freedom Movement.” – Seattle Times.

• “It’s the kind of film that will have audiences clapping and singing along.” – The New York Times.

Monday, March 5, 2012:  Speaker:  “An Evening with Nadine Bloch: The Arts of Public Protest”

Nadine Bloch is an innovative artist, nonviolent practitioner, political organizer, direct-action trainer, and puppetista who combines the principles and strategies of nonviolent civil disobedience with creative use of the arts in cultural resistance and public protest. She has trained activists in nonviolent direct action with the Ruckus Society in Oakland, California, participated in daring environmental protests with Greenpeace, led anti-globalization protests in Seattle in 1999, and engaged in “guerilla theater” at the IMF and World Bank protests in Washington, D.C. Come join us for a stimulating seminar where you will learn about the potential power of the arts in cultural resistance and public protest.

Monday, March 12, 2012:  Documentary Film: "ANPO: Art X War"

ANPO: Art X War reveals the untold story of resistance to United States military bases in Japan through a collage of paintings, photographs and films by Japan’s most respected artists. These stories and their art depict the struggle against the U.S. military presence, which provoked a national uprising in the 1960 and still festers today. ANPO refers to the U.S.-Japan Mutual Security Treaty, which permits the continued presence of numerous U.S. military bases in Japan. In 1960, public resentment against the military presence erupted in massive popular demonstrations that were crushed by Japan’s C.I.A.-backed Prime Minister Kishi. A wide range of Japanese artists depicted this resistance with a rich archive of art and films, including many large-scale paintings long hidden from public view. Contemporary artists continue to draw on their predecessors’ legacy, depicting problems generated by the bases. Shot in high definition, the film reveals the extraordinary passion behind this buried treasure trove of paintings, photographs, anime, and documentary and narrative films.

• “ANPO: Art X War is an important film that opens windows to a Japan most people have never seen and to the complexity of U.S.-Japan relations.” Dr. John Dower, MIT.

• “ANPO: Art X War offers a stunning journey through postwar Japanese art and politics, an alternative history.” – Tokyo Artbeat.

Monday, March 26, 2012:  Documentary Film: "The Singing Revolution"

Most people do not think about singing when they think of revolutions. But, in Estonia, song was the weapon of choice when Estonians sought to free themselves from five decades of rule by the Soviet Union. The Singing Revolution is the name given to the step-by-step process that led to the reestablishment of the Estonian independence in 1991. Hundreds of thousands of people faced down their oppressors armed only with hope, truth, and song, and altered the course of recent history. This was a non-violent revolution that overthrew a very violent occupation. The Singing Revolution is an uplifting story of the human spirit!

• “It’s a powerful story of a nation that, almost literally, sang its way to freedom” – Desson Thomson, Washington Post.

 

 

THEME IV: THE ROLE OF PEOPLE POWER INITIATIVES TO OVERCOME ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES

Monday, April 2, 2012:  Documentary Film: "The Last Mountain"

Director Bill Haney sounds the alarm in this penetrating documentary about the impact of coal mining on the citizens of West Virginia’s Coal River Valley, who are trying to prevent the plundering of one of the last untouched mountains in Appalachia. Aided by environmentalist Bobby Kennedy Jr., the townspeople protest against an energy conglomerate that uses ruinous mountain top removal techniques, despite the dangers to health and the environment.

In the valleys of Appalachia, a battle is being fought over a mountain. It is a battle with severe consequences that affect every American, regardless of their social status, economic background or where they live. It is a battle that has taken many lives and continues to do so the longer it is waged. It is a battle over protecting our health and environment from the destructive power of Big Coal.

The mining and burning of coal is at the epicenter of America’s struggle to balance its energy needs with environmental concerns. Nowhere is that concern greater than in Coal River Valley, West Virginia, where a small but passionate group of ordinary citizens are trying to stop Big Coal corporations, like Massey Energy, from continuing the devastating practice of Mountain Top Removal.

 The citizens argue the practice of dynamiting the mountain’s top off to mine the coal within pollutes the air and water, is responsible for the deaths of their neighbors and spreads pollution to other states. Yet, regardless of evidence supporting these claims, Big Coal corporations repeat the process daily in the name of profit. Massive profit allows Big Coal to wield incredible financial influence over lobbyists and government officials in both parties, rewrite environmental protection laws, avoid lawsuits and eliminate more than 40,000 mining jobs, all while claiming to be a miner’s best friend. As our energy needs increase, so does Big Coal’s control over our future. This fact and a belief that America was founded on the democratic principal that no individual or corporation owns the air and water and we all share the responsibility of protecting it, drives these patriotic citizens and their supporters from outside of Appalachia, like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to keep fighting.

A passionate and personal tale that honors the extraordinary power of ordinary Americans when they fight for what they believe in, THE LAST MOUNTAIN shines a light on America’s energy needs and how those needs are being supplied. It is a fight for our future that affects us all.

Monday, April 9, 2012:  Speaker: “An Evening with Richard Bell: Nukespeak – The Selling of Nuclear Technology from the Manhattan Project to Fukushima”

On October 4, 2011, Sierra Club Books published the 30^th anniversary edition of Nukespeak: The Selling of Nuclear Technology from the Manhattan Project to Fukushima. First published in 1982 in the wake of the first great nuclear plant accident at Three Mile Island, the original edition, written by Stephen Hilgartner, Richard C. Bell, and Rory O’Connor, examined the turbulent history of the nuclear industry, documenting the extraordinary public relations campaign that developers undertook to sell nuclear technology. This new edition, updated by original authors Richard C. Bell and Rory O’Connor, brings the book fully up-to-date, exploring the critical events of the last three decades—including the disaster at Chernobyl, the campaign to re-brand nuclear energy as a “clean, green” solution to global warming, and the still unfolding disaster at Japan’s Fukushima power plant. In addition, the authors argue persuasively that a language of euphemism and distraction continues to dominate public debate about nuclear weapons and nuclear power around the world. They provide an analysis of the language used to shape and distort political discourse and thinking on nuclear issues, supported by an index of “Nukespeak” words, and a look at how public relations campaigns have influenced the debate. They offer fresh perspectives on the failed economics of nuclear power and the continuing plans for a “nuclear renaissance” in the United States. Finally, the authors provide a historical foundation to create arguments and political movements necessary to alter the nuclear mindset.

 

Richard C. Bell is an author, editor, and political consultant who pioneered the use of online communications and social media in national electoral politics. He served as research director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, new media director at the Democratic National Committee, vice president for communications at the Worldwatch Institute, and blogmaster for John Kerry’s presidential campaign. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Monday, April 16, 2012:  Panel:  “The Environmental Movement to Stop the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline Project”

To celebrate Earth Day (early), please join us for a panel discussion involving climate change activists and scholars to understand the dynamics shaping the growing global movement to solve one of the most daunting challenges of our time – global climate change! The panel will focus on the largest environmental protests in the United States in the 21st century that led to the arrest of over 1,200 citizens who were protesting the proposed Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline Project that would ship carbon-intensive oil from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. On January 19, 2012, President Obama rejected the permit for this 1,700 mile pipeline. What strategies led to this successful effort to stop this project? What are the lessons for the environmental movement in future campaigns to prevent global climate change?

THEME V: RETHINKING THE POTENTIAL AND LIMITS TO PEOPLE POWER IN THE UNITED STATES IN THE 21^st CENTURY

Monday, April 23, 2012:  Documentary:  "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"

On December 7th, 2006, federal agents conducted a nation-wide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front – an organization the FBI has called America’s “number one domestic terrorism threat.” If a Tree Falls is a remarkable story of the Earth Liberation Front’s rise and fall told through the transformation and radicalization of one of its members, Daniel McGowan. Academy Award-nominated director Marshall Curry (Street Fight, Racing Dreams) weaves a chronicle of McGowan facing life imprisonment with the Earth Liberation Front. The result is a film that is equal parts coming of age tale and cops and robbers thriller. Using never before-seen archival footage and intimate interviews, with cell members and with the prosecutor and detective who were chasing them, If a Tree Falls asks hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way we define terrorism.

• “Has to be seen to be believed.” – Variety.

• “Troubling, complicated, and thought-provoking.” – Yale Daily News.

Monday, April 30, 2012:  Panel: “The Occupy Wall Street Movement: What Does It Mean for Social Change?”

Inspired by popular uprisings in the Arab Spring and Europe, a few thousand people converged on Zuccotti Park in New York City on September 17, 2011 that launched a national, and then international, movement to seek a more democratically accountable and equitable future  in the wake of the global economic crisis. Targeting the role of Wall Street banks and large corporations and government leaders in contributing to greater wealth and income inequality, the Occupy movement of popular protests grew to over 1,500 cities word wide. What are the goals of the Occupy movement? How has this movement contributed to constructive social change? Finally, what are the lessons for effective strategies for people power today?  Join us for a stimulating panel discussion on the potential and challenges of the Occupy movement.

 

 

Monday, May 7, 2012:  Documentary: "Better This World"

How did two boyhood friends from Midland, Texas wind up arrested on terrorism charges at the 2008 Republican Convention? Better This World follows the journey of David McKay (age 22) and Bradley Crowder (age 23) from political neophytes to accused domestic terrorists with a particular focus on the relationship they develop with a radical activist mentor in the six months leading to their arrests. A dramatic story of idealism, loyalty, crime and betrayal, Better This World goes to the heart of the War on Terror and its impact on civil liberties and political dissent in post-9/11 America.

• “…A terrific case study of the ethical, policy and legal dimensions of the use of government informants and the resulting entrapment defense. [The film] encapsulates well the ongoing tensions in our society between ensuring our security and liberties. This is a real winner.” – William C. Banks, Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.

• “Riveting. Structured like a taut thriller…delivers a chilling depiction of loyalty, naivete, political zealotry and the post-9/11 security state… and it features one doozy of a kicker in the ‘where are they now’ category.” – Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post.

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Critical Conversations on Civic Issues: The Fall 2011 Faculty & Film Series

Last semester, we offered two film series:

 

Beyond the Financial Crisis: From Wall Street to Main Street, Toward a New Agenda for Prosperity Beyond the Classroom announces a new thematic seminar and film series (UNIV399F) for Fall 2011. The seminar explores one of the fundamental challenges of our times by asking: How do we understand the global economic crisis and develop a new agenda for prosperity for the 21st century? What does the financial crisis mean for the practices of Wall Street and as well as the businesses on Main Street? How do we develop a successful agenda for sustained economic prosperity? The seminar series examines the lessons from the global financial crisis, as well as the promising strategies for sustained economic prosperity in the United States, Europe, and the developing world, as well as innovative models and practices here in Maryland. Open to all University of Maryland-College Park students, faculty, and staff as well as the broader community!  All events are held in 1102 South Campus Commons (SCC), Building 1.

Critical Conversations on Civic Issues: “Sustainable World” Film Series Beyond the Classroom is offering a new film series on "Visionary Leadership for a Sustainable World" that is open to all students and the public. This series will showcase the promising and hopeful work of visionary civic leaders around the world on the front-lines of the environmental, food, humanitarian, and development crises that confront the world. What steps are necessary to overcome the challenges of climate change, desertification, and hunger and the critical need for clean water, food security, and renewable forms of energy for future generations? What are the main lessons for visionary civic leadership to imagine, create and achieve an environmentally sound and sustainable world in the 21st century? Open to all University of Maryland-College Park students, faculty, and staff as well as the broader community!  All events are held in 1102 South Campus Commons (SCC), Building 1. View the "Sustainable World" Film Series schedule below:

 

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