ASHLAND – The Ashland Center for Nonviolence (ACN) at Ashland University will welcome Kazu Haga, an educator and practitioner in nonviolence and restorative justice, for a public lecture and workshop on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 3 and 4.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Haga will present “Fierce Vulnerability: Healing from Trauma, Emerging Through Collapse,” on Feb. 3, at 7 p.m., in the Trustees Room of the John C. Myers Convocation Center.
He will also lead a hands-on nonviolence workshop Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., in room 115 of the Dauch College of Business and Economics. Workshop attendees are welcome to bring a lunch and can join the workshop at either 11 a.m. or noon.
Haga’s presentation takes its title from his second book. “Fierce Vulnerability” explores the depths of division, violence and destruction taking place across today’s world and offers a new way to create healing by combining nonviolent action with the sciences of trauma healing and the promises of spiritual practice.
These themes were developed in his first book, “Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm.”
Haga has more than 25 years of experience teaching nonviolence, conflict resolution, restorative justice and mindfulness in prisons, faith communities, universities, high schools and youth groups around the country.
Born in Japan, he migrated to the U.S. with his family at a young age. At 17, he went on the Interfaith Pilgrimage of the Middle Passage and was inspired to spend the next year living in monasteries in South Asia, studying Buddhism and nonviolence.
He eventually became trained in Kingian Nonviolence, a methodology for conflict resolution based on the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr., and dedicated his life to pursue its teachings.
“There’s a lot of ‘us vs. them’ thinking in our world today,” observed Craig Hovey, Ph.D., director of ACN and professor of religion at AU. “Kazu Haga shows us a better way.”
Drawing on his extensive experience practicing and teaching Kingian Nonviolence, Haga offers a compelling vision for peace that is neither passive or naïve. Instead, he presents nonviolence as a fierce, disciplined and relational practice, one capable of healing broken relationships, restoring communities and transforming unjust systems.
“It’s possible to recognize harm without reproducing it,” Hovey added. “We can also pursue justice through practices rooted in compassion, resilience and collective healing.”
ACN, in its 22nd year, promotes alternatives to violence through education, training and building relationships that foster awareness and consideration of issues related to nonviolence and social justice, and supports ways to create a caring community that is inclusive and just.
For more information, please contact ACN at acn@ashland.edu or 419-289-5313.