Let’s develop “touchstones” for our class, in terms of how we honor each other when we are together, based on the good work of the Center for Courage and Renewal. Our list can grow organically as we move forward.

• Be kind to yourself
• Speak from the “I” perspective
• What is said in the class stays in the class
• Come into the space with an open mind and be an active, empathetic listener; assume best intentions
• Look and listen to others while they are talking; put away unrelated thoughts
• Listen to everyone thoroughly and fully before responding; if there’s some kind of “counter,” sandwich it between a compliment; respect the place of judgment that people are coming from.
• Celebrate the fact that our peers come from a unique background and therefore bring a unique perspective
• Push yourself to consider and respect opinions you might not initially agree with or understand
• Be ok with talking about uncomfortable, difficult conversations
• Be ok with not always knowing the answer
• No personal attacks
• Allow for silence; do not always try to fill it
• Thank our classmates for being present and for their vulnerability and insights
• As we learn about love’s multitudes
, let it be our guiding principal
• When we are online, be in an environment where you can be present and minimize distractions.
• Put away cell phones and close web tabs and other apps

Over our four weeks together, here are some of the meditations and music we will use.

Week 1 (via Zoom)

Monday, January 10 

• Welcome to the class
• “Where is the Love?” The Black Eyed Peas. Official Music Video. June 16, 2009.

Tuesday, January 11

• I Corinthians 13
• “Commentary on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.” Shively Smith. May 1, 2016.
• Middlebury LOVE-CAST: “Episode 1: What We Talk About When We Talk Candidly About Love.”  Cameron Weiner ’20 and Sabine Poux ’20.

Wednesday, January 12

• “‘Only Connect …’ The Goals of a Liberal Education.” WIlliam Cronon. The American Scholar, Volume 67, No. 4, Autumn 1998.
• “‘Only Love.’ The Mission of a New Liberal Education?”. Jonathan Isham.  March 10, 2017.
• “John O’Donahue: The Inner Landscape of Beauty.” Interview with Krista Tippett. August 6, 2015. (Play Episode!)

Thursday, January 13

• “Remembering bell hooks and ‘All About Love.'” NPR’s Book of the Day. January 4, 2022.
• bell hooks. all about love (Preface, Introduction and Chapters 1 – 7).

Week 2

Tuesday, January 18

• bell hooks. all about love (Chapters 8 – 13).
• “Building a Community of Love: bell hooks and Thich Nhat Hanh.” bell hooks. January 1, 2000.
• “bell hooks: Buddhism, the Beats and Loving Blackness.” George Yancy and bell hooks. The New York Times. December 10, 2015.

Wednesday, January 19

• “Satyagraha” in Ghandi: A Very Short Introduction. Bhiku Parekh. Oxford University Press (1997). (ERES)
• “A Culture of Peace in Motion: Transnational Diffusion of the Gandhian Repertoire from India to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.” Sean Chabot. Peace Research, 33(1), 29-36. 2001.
• “An Experiment in Love.” Selection from Stride Toward Freedom. 1958. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (ERES)

Thursday, January 20

• Selma (2014). Directed by Ava Duvernay.
• “From Anger to Love: Self-Purification and Political Resistance.” Martha C. Nussbaum in To Shape a New World: Essays on the Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Edited by Tommie Shelby and Brandon M. Terry. Harvard University Press (2018). (ERES)
• “What Do We Mean We When Say, ‘Building the Beloved Community’?” Carl Gregg. patheos. March 31, 2015.

Friday, January 21

• Assignment 1 due by 5:00PM on Canvas.

Week 3

Monday, January 24

• John Lewis. Across That Bridge (Introduction and Chapter 1 – Chapter 4)
• Good Trouble. 2020. Directed by Dawn Porter. (Trailer here).

Tuesday, January 25

• John Lewis. Across That Bridge (Chapter 5 – Reconciliation)
• “John Lewis: Love In Action.” Interview with Krista Tippett. January 26, 2017

Wednesday, January 26

• “Fundi- The Enduring Leadership Legacy of Civil Rights Activist Ella Baker.” Stephen Preskill. Advancing Women in Leadership Online Journal Volume 18, Spring 2005.
• “Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker.” Icarus Films. 1981.
• “We Who Believe in Freedom.” A poem in honor of Ella Baker.

Thursday, January 27

• “On Being with Krista Tippett Remembering Desmond Tutu.” January 6, 2022.

Sunday, January 30

• Assignment 2 due by 5:00PM on Canvas

Week 4

Monday, January 31

• “I Am Not Your Negro.” 2016. Directed by Raoul Peck.
• Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr. Crown Publishing. 2020. Chapter 7 and Conclusion. (ERES)
• “We need to talk about an injustice.” Bryan Stevenson. Ted: Ideas Worth Spreading. March 2012.

Tuesday, February 1

• “Ruby Sales: Where Does It Hurt?” Interview with Krista Tippett. September 15, 2016.
• “A Black Lives Matter Founder on Building Modern Movements.” Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. The New Yorker. January 18, 2021
• “From the Network: Alicia Graza’s couch conversation” with Akaya Windwood. May 31, 2018.
• ‘Say Yes!’ Poem by Andrea Gibson. Read it here and see it here!
• “Love After Love.” A poem by Derek Walcott

Wednesday, February 2

• Your talks

Thursday, February 3

• Your talks

Sunday, February 6

• Assignment 3b due by 5:00PM on Canvas