The question of when or if to resist authority is central to organized human life. As Fromm's comment suggests, the mythic traditions of the Hebrews and Greeks, and their emphasis on acts of defiance against God and gods, cast a long shadow. But as the gods recede, or become more symbolic, debates about the validity, limits, sources, and potential abuses of governmental authority become prominent. One of our texts, Sophocles' play Antigone, so effectively frames these issues that the title character's fierce and principled resistance to her King's seemingly godlike authority resonates as powerfully today as it did on the Athenian stage. The issues at stake in this play, and in the other works we will discuss, are at stake anywhere that humans connect the grounds for their adherence or resistance to authority on principles that transcend mere appeals to power, expediency, and self-interest. These issues are not unique to particular cultures, periods of history, or forms of government. In this course, we bring together a diverse collection of philosophical, political, historical and literary texts designed to facilitate and provoke critical exploration of the complicated relationship between authority and resistance. Such exploration is not always easy or welcome because, in much of the world, obedience to authority is thought to bring safety, security, and order, while resistance brings chaos, anxiety, even death. But we will consider where and when resistance might be justified, whether it is a futile and/or destructive impulse; and whether its persistence is evidence of an essential connection to human growth.

You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there's a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it's important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn't go away. (Obama) On the evening of 26 February 2012, in Sanford, Florida, George Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watch volunteer, confronted seventeenyear-old African American Trayvon Martin and questioned him for what he reported to police as ''suspicious behaviour.'' The two individuals engaged in an altercation that would conclude with Zimmerman fatally shooting Martin, who was unarmed, in the chest. Police took Zimmerman into custody, questioned him for several hours, treated him for minor injuries, and determined that there was no evidence to disprove his claims of self-defence. Under Florida's ''Stand Your Ground'' law, no arrest could be made. These laws effectively permit civilians to use deadly force without retreating against perceived threats. Since Florida's induction of Stand Your Ground in 2005, similar laws have been enacted across twenty-three states. Sometimes referred to as the ''shoot first laws,'' Stand Your Ground makes it incredibly difficult for prosecutors to file cases for murder when defendants claim self-defence. Katheryn Russell-Brown maintains that these laws give ''police officers the