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The Ursula Franklin Reader: Pacifism as a Map
Feminist, educator, Quaker, and physicist, Ursula Franklin has long been considered one of Canada's foremost advocates and practitioners of pacifism. The Ursula Franklin Pacifism as a Map is a comprehensive collection of her work, and demonstrates subtle, yet critical, linkages across a range of the pursuit of peace and social justice, theology, feminism, environmental protection, education, government, and citizen activism. This thoughtful collection, drawn from more than four decades of research and teaching, brings readers into an intimate discussion with Franklin, and makes a passionate case for how to build a society centered around peace.
- GenresNonfiction
384 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 2006
About the author
Ursula Martius Franklin
5 books10 followersUrsula Martius Franklin was a German-Canadian metallurgist, research physicist, author, and educator who taught at the University of Toronto for more than 40 years. She was the author of The Real World of Technology, which is based on her 1989 Massey Lectures; The Ursula Franklin Reader: Pacifism as a Map, a collection of her papers, interviews, and talks; and Ursula Franklin Speaks: Thoughts and Afterthoughts, containing 22 of her speeches and five interviews between 1986 and 2012. Franklin was a practising Quaker and actively worked on behalf of pacifist and feminist causes. She wrote and spoke extensively about the futility of war and the connection between peace and social justice. Franklin received numerous honours and awards, including the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case for promoting the equality of girls and women in Canada and the Pearson Medal of Peace for her work in advancing human rights. In 2012, she was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame. A Toronto high school, Ursula Franklin Academy, has been named in her honour.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 13, 2022
About a year ago, I decided I wanted to write a children’s book about an Antarctic creature who is sort of an amalgamation of various women scientists who all died in the last several years. (Yep, left turn, I understand the confusion, you must know, I love Madeleine L’Engle.) The idea was that their spirits all reincarnated into this being that continued to study things scientifically in like a secret lab in Antarctica. Anyway, as part of my research, I found Ursula Franklin. I thought, wow, what a perfect name, and put her name on the list of three women who I thought fit the concept. Later, I did just a bit of research on Ursula Franklin, just as I happened to be exploring continuing ethical issues I had with remaining a member of the United States military. When I noticed she had written this book, I thought, hmm, that’s a strange coincidence, and bookmarked it on Amazon, only to forget about it for many months. Well, I finally ordered a used copy, and began to read it. While it wasn’t the perfect page-turner oh-my-goodness-I-can-relate-to-all-of-this book I had perhaps hoped for, I did underline lots as I read the first few works and skimmed the rest of the book. Ursula Franklin was a Jewish, German-born Holocaust survivor, and later, a Canadian Quaker. She did so much and contributed to so many fields; her Wikipedia page is worth a read-through. She died at 94, in 2016, and I certainly hope her spirit will return soon, if she hasn’t already.
December 19, 2019
I will carry the ideas I discovered in Ursula Franklin's writing with me into the next decade. It's the best book I read in 2019. I gained so many new perspectives on society, technology, and academia. It introduced me to a new way of asking questions and thinking more about 'human-centred design' rather than approaching techology as the solution for a "human problem". And it helped me see the systems in our society and think about them more critically. Sometimes, I feel like we are all alone in some of the issues we are facing as a society but I'm feeling renewed in my trust that we can look to the history books for guidance (of what not to do and also what to do).
Ursula Franklin was an amazing scholar and I'm so thankful I stumbled on this book in the library catalogue.
Ursula Franklin was an amazing scholar and I'm so thankful I stumbled on this book in the library catalogue.
May 8, 2015
Series of essays about peace and achieving piece from a Quaker/Friends perspective.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews