Watch/Listen Now: "Compassionate Era: Bahá’í Teachings on the Animal Kingdom" recorded April 16th
Webinar

Responding to Injustice with Constructive Agency

Mar 16, 2022
Responding to Injustice with Constructive Agency Michael Karlberg

Transcript link: https://bit.ly/WI-Karlberg-3-20-22.s

The Wilmette Institute, in collaboration with the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) is pleased to present two free Spring 2022 lectures for students of GTU and UC Berkley, as well as the Wilmette Institute.

Intro to book chapter: “The past century has given rise to a searching global conversation regarding nonviolent approaches to social change. Bahá’ís are increasingly contributing to this conversation in ways that draw on an accumulating body of experience. In this regard, the Bahá’í community comprises a growing movement of people across the planet, representing a microcosm of humanity, working to translate commonly held spiritual principles into a new social reality through an evolving framework of action. This chapter examines salient elements of this framework in relation to insights from the theory and practice of nonviolent social change. It begins by considering how Bahá’ís understand the root causes of oppression. The dual problems of complacency and contentiousness in the face of oppression are then discussed, followed by an examination of the constructive and resilient means by which Bahá’ís work for social transformation and justice. The chapter concludes by examining those means through the lens of movement building.”

From “Responding to Injustice with Constructive Agency” by Michael Karlberg and Derik Smith, published in The World of the Bahá’í Faith, Robert Stockman (ed.) London: Routledge, 2022.

Date/Time: Wednesday, March 16th, 6 pm Pacific / 9 pm Eastern

See also Arthur Dahl, “Navigating the Urgent Transition Toward Sustainability,” April 6th at 1 pm Pacific (4 pm Eastern).

Contributors

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Michael Karlberg

Michael Karlberg is a professor of Communication Studies at Western Washington University. His scholarship examines prevailing conceptions of human nature, power, social organization, and social change – and their implications for the pursuit of peace and justice. He authored the books "Beyond the Culture of Contest" and "Constructing Social Reality: An Inquiry into the Normative Foundations of Social Change," as well as numerous articles on related themes.  He is currently working on a book tentatively titled "Ends & Means: Social Justice in an Age of Transition."

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Chitra Golestani

Dr. Chitra Golestani is currently Associate Director of the Wilmette Institute and an Adjunct Faculty at the Institute for Humane Education/Antioch University. She also works as an educational consultant, guest lecturer, qualitative researcher, and a co-founder of the Paulo Freire Institute (PFI) at UCLA - an organization committed to social justice education locally and globally. Her areas of interest, lectures and research include Human Rights, Social Justice and Global Citizenship Education, Conflict Resolution and Restorative Justice, Youth Activism in Extended Education, Conscious Living and Social Action. She holds a PhD in Social Science and Comparative Education from UCLA and a Master’s in Education from University of California, Santa Barbara.

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