Educating for Change

Those looking through extension program course catalogs at the University of California at Irvine or Cal State - Fullerton might halt abruptly when they see the title, “Licensed to Kill.” No, Blackwater isn't infiltrating the faculty.

We are.

In this traditionally conservative county, the Orange County chapter of ReclaimDemocracy.org has succeeded in filling the seats for a six-session, 12-hour course that deconstructs the role of corporations in society and offers participants opportunities to engage in revitalizing democracy.

Three course offerings thus far have averaged 50 participants per class. Even better, a large percentage of alumni have gone on to engage in the local ReclaimDemocracy.org chapter.

“Licensed to Kill” takes students on a mission to create the perfect corporation. In so doing, students become aware that the practices necessary to create such an entity are in widespread use today and often in direct conflict with the welfare of humanity and the Earth's ecological systems.

Although both course title and content are designed to outrage and shock people out of their complacency, “Licensed to Kill's” final session offers students practical ways to begin moving our corporatocracy toward a more people-focused society.

The course is provided through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, an adult continuous learning program funded by the Bernard Osher Foundation and offered at over one hundred venues throughout the nation. The University of Southern Maine serves as the national headquarters for the program.

In spring of 2008, a follow-up course for Licensed to Kill graduates will be offered through the UCI program, led by a ReclaimDemocracy.org volunteer. Designed as a small discussion group with a limited attendance, the course will allow students to explore some of the “big democracy questions” through facilitated dialogue with fellow students.

Course catalog description:

Licensed to Kill: How Corporations Affect the World
This course examines the modern corporation by looking at its philosophy, practices, and affects on individuals, communities, and the planet. The course shows how today's corporations demonstrate the characteristics of a virtually perfect profit-making machine – a machine which is in the process of consuming its customers and the very environment in which it exists to achieve its singular goal of short-term shareholder return. The course concludes with a section on how the machine might be unplugged.

Also, our Kansas City chapter is offering for the first time a course on challenging corporate power through the University of Missouri at Kansas City. The 10 week course, led by Chapter leaders Jon Matthew and Mary Lindsay, begins January 24.

It's based on a curriculum developed by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, supplemented by our own material. See ReclaimDemocracy.org/kc for more on that offering.

Steve Spanier, ReclaimDemocracy.org co-director and the course instructor,is happy to consult with anyone interested in adapting the course to use in their community. Contact us to inquire.

Editor's Note: "Licensed to Kill" also is the name of a corporation established in Virginia to parody the excessive latitude given to corporations in the U.S.