Dennis Gilmore Dalton is a professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. From 1969 until 2008, Dalton was the Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Political Science at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Dalton's work had a particular focus on the thought and leadership of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and civil disobedience. Before his retirement from

, he gave lectures on political theory from

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

to the present, eastern and western philosophies. He began teaching at Barnard in 1969, teaching classes in classical and modern political theory.

Academia

He received his bachelor's degree from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

(1960), his M.A. in Political Science from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

(1962), and his Ph.D. in political theory from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

(1965). He started his teaching career in the Department of Economic and Political Studies,

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

where he taught graduate seminars on political thought and

comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the ''comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relatin ...

. His seminar on nonviolence at Barnard related his personal experiences with close associates of Mahatma Gandhi during his years of research in India beginning in 1960 and continuing as a Fulbright Scholar to South Asia in 1994-1995. Joining a student

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

in 2007 at Barnard/Columbia, advocating a more multi-cultural curriculum, Dalton told a reporter, "I want the core curriculum supplemented by writings on Gandhi,

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

. I would like some acknowledgement of nonviolence in the Core." Since Dalton's retirement in 2008, Columbia College has added Gandhi to its Core curriculum, assigning Dalton's edition of Gandhi's political writings. Most recently, Dalton has been among a team of five editors of Columbia's ''Sources of Indian Traditions'' (2014) and he has lectured for three years at the Fromm Institute, San Francisco University. Dalton is the author of numerous articles and books, including ''Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action'' and ''Indian Idea of Freedom''.

Awards

* Senior Fulbright Scholarship for Research and Teaching in Nepal, 1994–95 * Ann Whitney Olin Senior Award for Teaching and Research, 1989–94 * Emily Gregory Award for Distinguished Teaching, Barnard College, 1978 * American Council of Learned Societies grant for research in South Africa, August 1975 * American Philosophical Institute grant for research in India, January–July 1975 * American Council of Learned Societies grant for research at the India Office Library, London, England, June–August 1972

Books

* ''Indian Idea of Freedom: Political Thought of Swami Vivekananda,

Aurobindo Ghose Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined th ...

, Mahatma Gandhi and

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

'', The Academic Press, 1982 * ** ''Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power in Action'', Columbia University Press, revised 3rd edition with new preface and afterword, 2014 * ''Mahatma Gandhi: Selected Political Writings'', edited with introduction by Dennis Dalton, Hackett Publishers, 1996

References

External links

Dennis G. DaltonRetiring, Professor Dalton Reflects on 39-Year Tenure by Joy Resmovits, Columbia SpectatorProf. Dalton Joins Hunger Strike by Joy Resmovits, Columbia Spectator
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalton, Dennis Living people Alumni of SOAS University of London Year of birth missing (living people)