The Future of Nonviolence

Ashland Center for Nonviolence to Hold Conference on ‘The Future of Nonviolence’

Published on Jan. 31, 2019
Ashland Center for Nonviolence

1/31/19 ASHLAND, Ohio – The Ashland Center for Nonviolence will hold its Fifth Annual John D. Stratton Conference on Feb. 23 and topic of this year’s ACN conference is “The Future of Nonviolence.”

The 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. conference will be held in the Dauch College of Business and Economics on the Ashland University campus and registration for the event is open through Feb 20. The cost is $65 for general admission, $60 for ACN members and $30 for students, and registrations can be made online at: acn.nationbuilder.com/registration19  or by calling 419-289-5313.

Dr. Craig Hovey, executive director of the Ashland Center for Nonviolence, said the theory and practice of nonviolence includes a wide variety of philosophies, theologies, practices and strategies.

“What does the future hold for these? Are the past successes of nonviolent movements adequately remembered and celebrated? Do they inspire fresh commitments and strategies? What do recent advances, realizations, and discoveries in all disciplines mean for reducing violent conflict, achieving nonviolent social change, and bringing about a just peace for more people and communities? What threats do present geopolitical realities pose to these prospects? What are the most relevant and enduring sources of nonviolence, both philosophically and historically? Have some forms of nonviolence become outmoded, unworkable, unwise, or untrue? Where does belief in and felicity with nonviolence need to be renewed? Historically, how have people’s commitment to nonviolence been revitalized?” Hovey asked. “The goal of this one-day conference is to address questions such as these by considering the future of nonviolence.”

This year’s ACN conference will feature presentations from a variety of experts, including:

  • “Agents provocateurs: Strategic implications for civil resistance” -- Tom Hastings (Portland State University)
  • “Nonviolence in Violent Times: Exploring militant antifascism, eco-defense, and property destruction” -- Michael Loadenthal (Miami University/Peace and Justice Studies Association)
  • “Thomas Merton and Pope St. John XXIII: 20th Century Apostles of Nonviolence and Peace” -- Thomas Snyder (Ashland Theological Seminary)
  • “Does Nonviolence Even Have a Future?” -- Paul Robinson (North Central State College)
  • “Reborn in the Salvadoran People: Oscar Romero and the Future of Nonviolence” -- Zachary Dehm (Duquesne University)
  • “Panel on Rethinking Democracy and Nonviolent Power in Dangerous Times” with Colins Imoh, The University of Toledo; Janet Gerson, International Institute on Peace Education; Dale Snauwaert, The University of Toledo; and Jeff Warnke, Walsh University.
  • “Peaceful Identity: A Critical Evaluation of Giorgio Agamben’s Philosophy” -- Hank Spaulding (Mount Vernon Nazarene University)
  • “Political Theology, Martin Luther King Jr. & Frantz Fanon: Can ‘the apostle of nonviolence’ & ‘the apostle of violence’ meet?” -- Seth Gaiters (The Ohio State University)
  • “Violence and Expulsion as Obstructions to Asylum: Questioning Obstacles” -- Gary Baker (Denison University)
  • “And God Said to Them: How Radical Anthropocentrism Does Violence to God’s Gift of Creation” -- Krista Stevens (John Carroll University)
  • “Lead, the brain, and violence” -- Jeff Weidenhamer (Ashland University)
  • “Love as the Moral Foundation of Nonviolence” -- Shawn Graves (University of Findlay)
  • “Gender Stratification” -- Ekklesia Jenkins and Tyler Olson (Cuyahoga Community College)
  • “Religious conviction in Antiwar Identity” -- Julie Hart (Ohio Dominican University)
  • “Christian Literary Witness & Non-violence” -- Mark Ryan (University of Dayton)
  • “Some Thoughts On Justice, Responsibility and Violence” -- Charles Blatz (The University of Toledo)
  • “May 4, 1970: Is Reconciliation Possible?” -- Robin Burkhardt (Kent State University)

Ashland University, which has been ranked in the top tier of colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities category, is a mid-sized, comprehensive private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Religiously affiliated with the Brethren Church, Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) deeply values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students. ###