[IntLawProfessors] CITING HITLER?

[Peter Radan]

What next? Stop offering courses in which Hitler and Nazism is studied?



And, what is wrong with being provocative? Indeed, it should be further
encouraged.



Peter Radan



Professor Peter Radan

Macquarie Law School

Faculty of Arts

Macquarie University  NSW 2109

(Buidling W3A Room 526)



Tel:        (02) 9850-7091

Email:    peter.radan at mq.edu.au





*From:* intlawprofessors-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au [mailto:
intlawprofessors-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au] *On Behalf Of *Sanford Gaines
*Sent:* Wednesday, 30 May 2012 7:00 AM
*To:* William Slomanson
*Cc:* intlawprofessors at mailman.anu.edu.au
*Subject:* Re: [IntLawProfessors] CITING HITLER?



One hardly need resort to Hitler--an extremely provocative move by which
the nuanced message you want to convey will be totally lost--to find
examples of irony, hypocrisy, and corruption of ideals in political
writings and actions. As an American, an example that immediately springs
to my mind would be to juxtapose the high ideals the US Declaration of
Independence (the self-evident truth "that all men are created equal") with
the clauses of the US Constitution just 13 years later arranging affairs of
state to allow slavery. The irony and corrupting power of this contrast was
resolved (at least in the narrow legal sense) only after horrific loss of
life in the US Civil War, the traces of which still linger bitterly in the
minds of many Americans 150 years later.



Sandy Gaines



On 29 May 2012, at 22:28, Gaya Davidyan wrote:



I would NOT USE a text thus cites Hitler. He was a sick person and i don't
think any of his ideas may be used eve for irones.



Gaya

2012/5/30 William Slomanson <bills at tjsl.edu>

Assume that an Int'l Law textbook cites Hitler's Mein Kampf (possibly on
two occasions) as chapter-opening two-sentence vignettes/food for
thought/incredible ironies. Each passage contains language that sounds like
the French Revolution or American Constitution---written when he was in
jail in 1924. After he came to power, he then totally disregarded his
pre-Furer human rights musings. One underlying purpose would be to futher
expose Hitler's hypocrisy and, as they say, to illustrate how absolute
power corrupts absolutely.

Question #1: Would you NOT do so, if this were your textbook? Would you NOT
use a text that thus cites Hitler? Would it NOT make a difference?

Question #2: Would the mere citation of Mein Kampf in that textbook bar it
from being used in certain countries?

Thoughts?
Bill





-- 
Gayane Davidyan

Associate Professor
School of Law
Moscow State University
Moscow, Russia

Intlawprofessors is moderated by Don Anton and hosted by the Australian
National University College of Law
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.anu.edu.au/pipermail/intlawprofessors/attachments/20120530/0a69787d/attachment.html