New Forms of Revolution

Senior Fellow and nuclear scholar Jonathan Schell will make a presentation on "Revolutions in Nonviolence" on a panel on New Forms of Revolution at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. His talk at Northeastern is titled "The Revolution in Nonviolence."

This talk, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a lengthy discussion period. Schell's fellow panelists include Julie Mertus, who will be speaking on "The Revolutionary Past and Radical Future of Human Rights," and David Mason, who will be speaking on "Systemic Revolutions and the End of the American Century." The March 11 panel is part of a larger conference from March 9 to March 12, titled "The Past and Future(s) of Revolution: A Global Exploration." Find more information about the panel discussion and the conference here.

Here's a preview from Schell's talk:

"The 20th century saw the greatest expansion of violence of any in recorded history. Less noticed was a counter-tradition of nonviolence, as startling, in its own way, as the violence. Its achievements have been immense, including the end of the British raj, the American civil rights revolution, and the fall of the Soviet Union. The rise of this new force can be seen as a response to the century’s violence, especially in its imperialistic forms. Peoples all over the world found a way to oppose and throw off domination by the superior arms of the imperial West. Though there is now perhaps a lull in nonviolent movements, enduring factors work to foster their revival and continuation. These include the still intact will of peoples to run their own affairs and the presence of nuclear know-how. I will also strike a few personal notes, relating to my reporting experience in Vietnam and my friendship with some of the organizers of the Solidarity movement."

The Harold Willens Peace Fellow for The Nation Institute and the Peace and Disarmament Correspondent for The Nation, Schell is the author of numerous books, including the classic The Fate of the Earth (1982). His more recent books include The Unfinished Twentieth Century (2001), The Unconquerable World: Power, Nonviolence, and the Will of the People (2003) and A Hole in the World: An Unfolding Story of War, Protest and the New American Order (2004). The Jonathan Schell Reader (2005) collects some of his greatest hits. His most recent book is The Seventh Decade (2007).

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