Resistance to Authoritarianism

Class Description

This is a continuation from the Spring course “Authoritarianism and Resistance”, but you’re welcome to join us even if you’ve not taken that or my previous course on authoritarianism. In such case, however, I highly recommend that you begin reading either The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer*, or Authoritarian Nightmare by John Dean and Bob Altemeyer before the summer session starts. A working understanding of authoritarianism better informs us about how to effectively resist, and we will rely heavily on Altemeyer’s model as it best defines and explains authoritarianism while predicting the consequences that now unfold before us. No matter what one’s position in society is, with whatever one’s particular ability and means allow, each of us can stay informed, while maintaining sanity and building courage, in order to exercise the personal freedom needed to resist authoritarian oppression, aggression, and destructiveness. Our primary text for this summer’s course is On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder. (Buy extra copies to give to people you know – it’s an act of resistance!) * The Authoritarians can be downloaded for free as either a PDF or ePub book at https://theauthoritarians.org/. There is also an audio version and it’s available in paperback for $9.74. “We were never more free than under the German occupation.” -Jean-Paul Sartre Mondays, 1:00 – 2:30 In Person: B2 Class Limit: 20