Truth, Non Violence, Gandhian Theory, and Travel to India September 27, 2010

When Dr. Michael Sonnleitner gets going about Gandhi, there’s no telling where the conversation might go.

But one thing is guaranteed – any discussion with Portland’s Fulbright scholar is bound to be interesting.

Dr. Sonnleitner will be holding three brown bag sessions (with slide show) about the five months of teaching he did in India last spring for his Fulbright. His goal is to share his experience and spur an interactive discussion:

Monday, Sept 27 – 12pm –PCC Sylvania Campus, Teaching Learning Center, CC Building

Wednesday, Sept 29 – 12pm – PCC Cascade Campus, Library, Audio Visual Room

Thursday, Sept 30 – 12pm – PCC Rock Creek Campus Teaching Learning Center, building 3, room 102

Sonnleitner received a Fulbright to teach Gandhian Thought at St. Thomas College, a Catholic college in Kala, India. He also taught courses in U.S. Government and in International Relations at the college. He was the only community college instructor to travel to India on a Fulbright this past year.

While in India Sonnleitner made weekly visits to the Mahatma Gandhi University in nearby Kottayam. After his teaching gig ended, he and his family traveled to Israel and Palestine to listen and speak to human rights organizations and hold non-violent demonstrations in the West Bank.

When Sonnleitner discusses Gandhi, his specialization of study, he weaves his experience as a husband and father, along with politics and social issues, in with Gandhian teachings. He likes to point out that Gandhi’s theories focus more intensively on Truth (both absolute and relative) than on non-violence. Non-violence, he says, is a secondary tenet, a means to achieving higher understanding, of getting closer to Truth.

This discussion and slide show promises to be fascinating and informative for anyone with an interest in history, geopolitics, philosophy and international studies.

Please come and join the conversation during one of these three open PCC campus events! Parking is $3