Resources for Teachers and Students on Jody Williams

Prepare: Jody Williams won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 in acknowledgement of her work as the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, ICBL. Her curriculum vitae can be found on the Nobel website at.

Read: Jody Williams' Architects of Peace essay is excerpted from an article titled, "The International Campaign to Ban Landmines: A Model for Disarmament Initiatives," based upon her Nobel lecture. In it, she outlines how an international consensus has begun to emerge that the production and use of landmines is no longer morally defensible.

Explore: The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is now a network of more than 1400 non-governmental organizations in 90 countries. Although more than 150 countries have signed the Landmine Treaty (formally titled: "The 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines"), the United States of America is not one of them. Information about the current status of the ICBL campaign can be found on their website.

Write: In her Architects of Peace essay, Jody Williams calls the land mine the "perfect soldier" because, like an eternal sentry, it goes on killing even after the war ends. Her argument here employs a rhetorical device known as hyperbole, where intentional exaggeration is used to make a point. Are there better ways to argue the morality of landmine use? Using internet resources, including the links in this lesson plan, what specific ethical principles apply to the argument to ban landmines? Write a three-to-five page summary of your research where you analyze ethical arguments from a rhetorical perspective.

Extend: The United Nations Mine Action Service, UNMAS, founded in 1997, supports the UN's vision of "a world free of the threat of landmines and unexploded ordnance, where individuals and communities live in a safe environment conducive to development, and where mine survivors are fully integrated into their societies." Their website contains extensive information on international progress towards this goal.

Additional Resource: Jody Williams currently serves as Distinguished Visiting Professor in Social Work and Global Justice at the University of Houston. Those interested may access on-line links to her numerous articles and statements.

Biography of Jody Williams