Lessons in Effective Peace Activism: Reflections on Norman Cousins’ Life

This event reflected on the life and legacy of Norman Cousins, one of the twentieth century’s most effective peace activists and a champion of world federation. Dr. Allen Pietrobon, author of Norman Cousins: Peacemaker in the Atomic Age, was joined by special guest Candis Cousins, Norman’s daughter, for a conversation about how Americans and world citizens could carry forward Cousins’ lifelong work for peace.

Event Description

Norman Cousins served as editor of the Saturday Review for more than thirty years, using his influential platform to shape American public debate during the Cold War. His progressive, nonpartisan editorials earned him respect from the public and government officials alike. Beginning in 1945, Cousins mobilized efforts to support victims of the atomic bombing of Japan and Nazi medical experiments, to foster world federation, to halt nuclear weapons testing, to build a mass peace movement as founder and co-chair of the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, and to end the Vietnam War. At the height of the Cold War, he played a central role in securing the world’s first nuclear arms control agreement—the test ban treaty of 1963—and in fostering U.S.-Soviet detente.

Speakers

• Dr. Allen Pietrobon, Assistant Professor of Global Affairs and Chair of the Global Affairs Department, Trinity Washington University; Author, Norman Cousins: Peacemaker in the Atomic Age
• Dr. Candis Cousins, Daughter of Norman Cousins; Retired Clinical Psychologist; Studio Art Instructor

Policy Focus

• Lessons from Cousins’ approach to nuclear disarmament and arms control advocacy
• The role of media and public intellectuals in shaping peace movements
• Strategies for building broad coalitions for world federation and global governance
• How contemporary Americans can continue Cousins’ legacy of peace activism