Overview
By now you will have seen 'Oppenheime'r or watched 'Threads' and 'The Day After'.
In this Week's Reflection, first address the feelings and thoughts that the film(s) aroused in you.
Next discuss issues of responsibility and culpability. Were those who developed nuclear weapons heros or villians? Why or why not? Were those who used nuclear weapons heros or villians?
To paraphrase Eldrige Cleaver, "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." Do you agree or disagree with respect to nuclear weapons?
During the Cold War, Kennedy's Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamera declared the Mutual Assured Destruction (M.A.D.) strategy to avoid global nuclear annihilation. What were some alternatives offered at the time? (pp. 250-254 in Webel and Galtung). What are some alternatives today?
WEEKLY JOURNAL ENTRY GUIDELINES:
The weekly papers should attempt to synthesize the assigned readings and in-class videos and readings. However, they should not be a summary of the week’s readings but must be a critical assessment. I do not want book reports. You are expected not only to read the readings, but to analyze/synthesize/critique, and compare/contrast them with additional readings and cases. There are no intellectual restrictions on any additional readings or cases you include in your journal entries. What have you taken from the readings? What are the implications of the topics covered in the readings and the cases?
You could also advance some additional research questions either raised by the authors themselves or by your interpretation of the reading(s). What ramifications does the work have for our understanding of peace and conflict? How do the chapter readings relate to the video or case? What are your personal experiences, knowledge, aspirations, and fears related to the weekly readings? How do the chapter readings relate to your own experiences of peace and conflict?
Required Book
Webel, Charles and Galtung, Johan (Eds.) Handbook of Peace and Confl2ict Studies. Routledge. 2007.