By Julia Mericle
Contributing Writer
Barry Gan, a philosophy professor as St. Bonaventure University for 23 years, recently had his book, “Violence and Nonviolence,” published.
Gan has worked in the nonviolence field for many years and is director of the Center for Nonviolence on campus. Initially told by editors that his work was too short, he expanded his writing and eventually completed the book after 15 years.
“When I sit down and write, I can write pretty quickly,” Gan said. “But the hard part was being disciplined enough to sit down and write. Once I got the book contract, there was a deadline and then it was a lot easier to write.”
Gan wrote several scholarly papers and co-authored a book on nonviolence before finishing his latest book.
Initially focusing on the misunderstandings of violence he has witnessed, Gan soon realized misunderstandings of nonviolence were also prevalent. He decided to put together papers from both subjects to create his book.
“I wrote a paper many years ago about violence and couldn’t get it published anywhere, but I read it at different conferences and got criticisms of it,” Gan said. “And eventually I said, ‘oh, I could write a whole book about misconceptions people have about violence.’”
In regards to students and faculty at St. Bonaventure, the goal of the book is to make them notice the violence they do to others, according to Gan.
Gan said he wants the book to “open (readers) eyes to the violence they do to those around them.”
He explained the book gives examples of violent acts between people that most don’t even consider violence upon first thought.
“Being willing to take a hit instead of giving a hit is a way to end the cycle of violence,” he said.
Gan recognizes that while we know a lot about nonviolence, there are still many things for him to learn.
“The older I get, the more I feel like I shouldn’t be telling other people what to do because I don’t know anywhere near as much as I used to think I knew,” Gan said, “I have knowledge that I can share with other people, but I have a lot to learn still.”
As for future projects, Gan said that with the publicity for “Violence and Nonviolence,” it would be about a year before he begins to explore new projects.
