THEO 183 Moral Problems: war & peace in Europe & the mideast
Summer 2010
Instructor: William French email: wfrench@luc.edu
Office hours: To be announced Class: Tues/Thursday 9am -12:20pm
CROSS-LISTINGS AND THE LOYOLA CORE
This course cross-lists with the Peace Studies Program and sometimes with the International Studies Program. It fulfills the core knowledge area of Theological and Religious Studies Knowledge and seeks to develop students critical thinking skills and heighten their ethical awareness and decision-making skills. Likewise it satisfies the values requirement “understanding and promoting justice.” Likewise it promotes an “understanding of spirituality or faith in action in the world.” Similarly it fulfills the required ethics requirement.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course we will explore the moral implications of humanity's radically expanded capabilities of destruction. Religion is a powerful motivator and shaper of human valuing and action and we will examine the traditions of pacifism and just war reasoning as they develop in the Jewish and Christian heritages to check carnage and aggression. We will also examine how religions sadly also have been appealed to in order to encourage hatred and violence and to push at times for Holy War. We will explore the ethic and tactics of Mahatma Gandhi, the famous Hindu leader, who has inspired many about the power of nonviolent conflict resolution.
We will examine a number of topics in the ethics of military conflict by looking at various cases such the bombing policies of World War II, the Holocaust, the Cold War, the rise of guerrilla war and counter-insurgency strategies, the Balkans Conflict and the issue of humanitarian intervention, Mideast tensions and some of the forces pushing the "war on terror," and the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. We will examine the developments in deterrence logic and the moral and strategic implications of nuclear weapons and the threat of proliferation. Likewise attention will be given to the problem of underdevelopment, the current terrorist threats, and the concerns about the spread of weapons of mass destruction. The lessons both of Vietnam and now Iraq suggest the importance of understanding how counter-insurgency war differs vastly from conventional war. Particular attention will be given to how such conflicts have impacted on Europe and the Mediterranean World.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1/ United States Catholic Conference, The Challenge of Peace (Also free on line at www.osjspm.org/the_challenge_of_peace_1.aspx). On Blackboard too.
2/ Gandhi, All Men Are Brothers. Also free on-line at http://www.mkgandhi.org/amabrothers/amabindex.htm. Print out the section that corresponds to the sections assigned for our readings. On Blackboard too.
3/ Samantha Power, "A Problem from Hell:" America and the Age of Genocide.
4/ Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, 3rd ed.
5/ Elie Wiesel, Night
6/ On-line essays on nuclear weapons, Anti-Semitism, and Mideast tensions. These will also be linked on the class’s Blackboard site.
SUPPLEMENTAL COURSE FEE FOR FIELD TRIP ON JUNE 8TH: Rome’s Jewish Ghetto
We will have a guided tour and there will be a supplemental fee required to cover the cost of the guide. The fee will be kept as low as possible, but it will depend on the number of students in the class.
THE REQUIREMENTS
1) Reading the required texts and informed participation in class is presupposed.
2) There will be three quizzes. The dates are: June 1, June 3, and June 22. Each quiz will count 10% of course grade.
3/ Integration paper on the Holocaust and Rome’s Jewish Ghetto tour: Due June 15th. This is worth 20% of your course grade.
4/There will be a midterm exam on June 10. This counts for 20% of the final grade
5) A final examination in our classroom on June 24th. It will be based on lectures, discussions and readings throughout the course. The final is worth 30% of your grade
Grading Scale
93-100 A 73-76.99 C
90-92.99 A- 70-72.99 C-
87-89.99 B+ 67-69.99 D+
83-86.99 B 63-66.99 D
80-82.99 B- 60-62.99 D-
77-79.99 C+ below 60 F
Loyola’s grading system is described in the college catalog. There it states:
A means “excellent... the highest level of achievement in the subject and outstanding level of intellectual initiative.”
B+ means “very good . . . a very good level of achievement and an intelligent fulfillment of the course requirements in a manner that approaches the quality of the highest grade.”
B means “good . . a good level of achievement, intelligent understanding and application of subject matter.”
C+ means “above satisfactory. . . a level of achievement and fulfillment of course requirements in a manner that exceeds the average requirements.”
C means “satisfactory . . . academic work of an acceptable quality. . .”
D+ means “unsatisfactory.”
D means “poor.”
F means “failure.”
WEEKS CLASSES TOPICS READINGS
1/ May 25 a/The history of Christianity's views on War and Peace: pacifist, just war theory, and crusader views with illustrations from other religious traditions
b/ The Dynamics of Violence and Aggression: The Psychology of Aggression
Movie: “Faces of the Enemy”
Discussion of paranoia, projection, and propaganda
May 27 a/ British Colonialism and Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance campaigns
Introduction to Modern India under British Colonial Rule and the Indian Independence Movement
Gandhi’s All Men are Brothers (print out on-line version, or buy the book, on-line version is on Blackboard) "Brief Chronology of Events," pp. 181-184 (not on-line)
"Autobiographical" Section, pp. 3-50
"Religion and Truth," pp. 51-76.
"Ahimsa or the Way of Nonviolence," pp 77-97
b/ Movie: “Gandhi” (selection) and discussion
2/ June 1 **quiz on Gandhi readings
a/ Rise of Modern War in Europe and elsewhere: Stages of Destructive Growth: powerpoint presentation
b/ Just War Theory and the Christian Realist View: St. Augustine and the Sack of Rome
The Claim that “War is Hell” as rationale for aggression.
Walzer, chapters 1-3 (pp. 3‑47)
Bishops' Letter, paragraphs 5-70, 111-121 (See Blackboard)
c/ Just war Theory criteria: the nuts and bolts
Just Conduct Principle based on Human Rights of Civilians
June 3 ***quiz on Walzer chapters 9, 14 and 16
a/ World War II (1939-45): Obliteration Bombing Cases in Europe and Japan
Walzer on permissible and impermissible modes of targeting
Walzer, chapter 9 and 14 (pp. 138‑159, 225-232)
Bishops' Letter, paragraphs 71-110 (On Blackboard)
b/ Walzer's Concept of the Supreme Emergency
Walzer chapter 16 (pp. 251-268)
c/ The Holocaust and Centuries of Christian anti-Semitism
Harry Cargos essay on Blackboard
3 / June 8 Tour of Rome’s Jewish Ghetto
Wiesel. Night
June 10 **Midterm exam
a/. Europe and the Cold War Threat (1945-1991)
History, tensions, causes, implications. Who was responsible?
Models of Nuclear Strategy
- 1) Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) (Strategic use)
- 2) Nuclear Utilization Target Selection (NUTS) (Tactical use)
- 3) Defensive Strategies: Ballistic Missile Defenses (BMD)
Walzer, chapter 17 (pp. 269-283)
b/ Guerrilla Warfare as Unconventional War: History, tactics, impact, ethical implications
Walzer, chapter 11 (pp.176‑196)
c/ Movie: “Vietnam: America Takes Charge”
d/ Discussion: What went wrong? Legacy? "Lessons of Vietnam"?
See US Army 1986 Field Manual on “Counter Guerrilla Operations” on Blackboard.
4/June 15 **Paper due: Tour of Ghetto, Cargas Reading and Night Integration
a/ Post-Cold War Tensions: Yugoslavia’s collapse into Three-way conflicts: The role of religious dentity marshaled for conflict
b/ The Issue of Humanitarian Intervention
Power, pp. xi-xxi, 247-327, 391-442.
c/ Movie: Yugoslavia: The Descent into Hell
June 17 a/ 9/11, Al Qaeda and Mideast Tensions
Sources of Anti-American resentments: Specific and General Issues
b/ The Global Economy and the rise of Religious Fundamentalism
Movie: “Minefield: The US and the Muslim World”
Essays on Blackboard
5/ June 22 quiz on essays for June 17 and June 22nd
War In Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and Possibilities for Conflict Reduction
Renewed Attention to Key Elements of Counter-Insurgency Warfare
History of the planning and prosecution of the War in Iraq.
Prospects for Mideast Regional Stability
Essays on Blackboard
June 24 FINAL EXAM in classroom
