Power of the Powerless - Discussion Group
Date and Time
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
This event occurred in the past
- Tuesday, April 4, 2017 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Location
Saints Tekakwitha and Serra Hall, Humanities Center, Room 200
5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110Cost
Free
Details
Václav Havel – playwright, dissident, and ultimately first president of the Czech Republic – wrote the political essay “Power of the Powerless” in 1978 in support of the Charter 77 movement. Taking as his starting point the hypothetical case of a grocer forced by the government to display a sign with the slogan “Workers of the World, Unite!” in his shop window, Havel explores the impact that those who seek to “live in the truth” can have on a political system.
We will read and discuss Havel’s essay over two sessions, with special attention to the ways in which Havel’s analysis of the space open to dissidents in Eastern Europe for political action is, and is not, relevant to contemporary concerns.
REGISTRATION
Register by contacting humanitiescenter@sandiego.edu. You will need to arrange a time to pick up your readings prior to the first session date.