"On a Saturday afternoon in New York in late 1912, around the plain wooden tables of Polly's Restaurant in Greenwich Village, a group of women gathered, all of them convinced that they were going to change the world. It was the first meeting of "Heterodoxy," a secret supper club. The goals of the group were simple: They would meet to talk about their lives, their politics, and the still-not widely recognized idea that women were fundamentally equal...

Addresses heavily debated questions by offering different critical perspectives on major historical events, drawn from all time periods and from all parts of the globe. This volume covers twentieth-century European social and political movements. Provides students with an enhanced understanding of events only summarized in history texts, helps stimulate critical thinking and provides ideas for papers and assignments.

While sacred texts contain passages on warfare and violence, they also contain maxims, stories, and images exhorting believers to peace. What are the challenges of pacifism? Examine the issue through three historical cases: Mahatma Gandhi, 20th-century American Catholic pacifism, and the Muslim scholar Sheikh al-Hajj Salim Suwari.

From the overt militarism of Starship Troopers to the pacifism of the Doctor, examine how societies view war and the ways we are (or are not) able to justify it. As you compare and contrast two very different ways of confronting violence, you will also look at the middle ground via Just War Theory and ponder the difficulties of preserving life while sometimes having to cause harm.

"During the Civil War, many Quakers were caught between their fervent support of abolition, a desire to preserve the Union, and their long-standing commitment to pacifism. When Charles Cox, a young Indiana Quaker, slips out early one morning to enlist in the Union Army, he scandalizes his family and his community. Leaving behind the strict ways of Quaker life, Cox is soon confronted with the savagery of battle, the cruelty of the enemy (as well as...

"As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like having her name listed on her own research papers. Meitner made groundbreaking strides in the study of radiation, but when Hitler came to power in Germany, she suddenly had to face not only sexism, but also life-threatening anti-Semitism as well. Nevertheless, she persevered and one day made...

"One of the world's greatest minds addresses religion, science, the treatment of minorities, and more. In the aftermath of the First World War, Albert Einstein wrote about his hopes for the League of Nations, his feelings as a German citizen among the growing anti-Semitism and nationalism of his country, and his myriad opinions about the current affairs of his day. In addition to these political perspectives, The World as I See It reveals the idealistic,...