Frontlines of Freedom

AS.196.351
  • Jan. 3-13
  • T-W-Th-F, 10 am-1 pm

From claims of stolen elections to outlandish conspiracies and mob violence, democracies around the world are facing unfamiliar challenges they are ill-equipped to address. But for billions of people living under unfree governments, these developments are nothing new. Frontlines of Freedom surveys the global struggle for human rights and democracy, leveraging the expertise of foreign dissidents who have spent decades fighting against the trends that we in democratic countries are just coming to understand. Evan Mawarire, Zimbabwean pastor and leader of the #ThisFlag movement, is the instructor. Throughout the course, dissidents from countries such as Iran, Russia, and China will feature as guest lecturers. Students will discuss how oppressive regimes maintain their power by suppressing civic engagement and the role of the United States and other democracies in countering authoritarianism at home and abroad.