The Possibilities of Dialogue
January 2007
Banner photo: Herby Sachs/version-foto.de
Life with Principle
The Thoreau Society, based in Massachusetts, U.S.A., has introduced an educational DVD-ROM resource for schools which seeks to highlight the relevance of the life and values of Henry David Thoreau to our times. A Melvyn Hopper production, Life with Principle: Thoreau's voice in our time, focuses on themes identified by educators as the elements of Thoreau's philosophy that students can benefit from, in terms of understanding themselves and American culture. The life of Soka Gakkai founder Tsunesaburo Makiguchi--along with Nelson Mandela and Wangari Maathai--is examined in an additional feature on "profiles of civil disobedience," and SGI President Daisaku Ikeda is introduced in the section on world leaders who have been influenced by Thoreau's writings.
The six themes on the DVD-ROM are "Hearing That Different Drummer," "Being Awake, Aware and Alive," "Examining Desperate and Deliberate Lives," "Living in Society," "Living in Nature" and "Confronting the Mean and the Sublime." Interviews with people familiar with Thoreau are interspersed with comments from high school students grappling with the challenge of living with truth in a complex world. The ROM content on the DVD contains extensive resources for educators, including selections from Thoreau's writings, questions for students and other recommended reading.
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