I am a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University where I am a founding member of its Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict, now in the Blavatnik School of Government. I focus on nonviolence, pacifism, and the critique of just war theory. I was previously a member of Oxford’s Changing Character of War Program. I am also a founder and co-chair of the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights which conducts human rights workshops for students in Oxford, New York, Geneva, Brazil, and other locations. I have been a Global Ethics Fellow and Senior Fellow, Carnegie Council for Ethics and International Affairs, and a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Loughborough University, UK.
I previously taught at the University of Oregon where I was a professor of philosophy and professor of law and co-founded the Peace Studies Program and the Masters Program in Conflict Resolution. I have also taught at Northwestern University, Harvard Law School, the University of Hawaii/Matsanuga Peace Institute, and Boston University.
I have published two books, most recently Pacifism as War Abolitionism, and seventy academic articles in addition to numerous editorials and commentaries on political events. An article of mine on pacifism was recognized by the Philosophers Annual (1983) as one of the top articles that year. I received the Joseph J. Blau Prize in 2003 from the Society for Advancement of American Philosophy for significant contributions to the history of American philosophy for my work on pragmatism and war.
My academic work has been deeply informed by my political activism. I was involved in the civil rights movement starting in 1963 working with Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in New York City. I worked in an antipoverty program in southeastern Kentucky in the summers of 1964 and 1965, and in 1966 participated in the “March Against Fear” in Mississippi. I became increasingly involved in anti-Vietnam War activities in the late 1960s both in New York and Boston. It was during that time that I worked with Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, mainly at their farm in upstate New York. Dorothy has been a major political influence on me.
My antiwar activities led to my being expelled from Harvard in 1969 (I still do not have a bachelors degree!). I moved to Boston University where I assisted Howard Zinn and did graduate work with Alasdair MacIntyre and Max Wartofsky. I moved to Oregon where I became deeply involved in farmworkers issues in the 1980s and 1990s. I co-founded Theater Adelante which performed anti-pesticide plays for six years throughout the West Coast. In 2010 I co-founded the Oxford Consortium for Human Rights after moving to Oxford. I have received a number of awards for my human rights activities, including the "Grassroots Award" from the National Funding Exchange and "Humanitarian of the Year" from the Lane County Jewish Federation.
In 2021 I was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Quinnipiac University for my “significant contributions to human rights and steadfast commitment to peace on our planet”. I have been named one of the leading scholars in peace and conflict studies by the Washington Post.
My political work has always had an artistic side. I have always been interested in playwriting, and pursued it more seriously in the 1980s in a period of significant disillusionment with academia. This is addressed in my section on non-academic writing.
In 1978 I co-authored the play with Randi Douglas, "Appalachian Ebeneezer", that adapted Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" for Depression-era Appalachia. It has since been produced throughout the United States. In the 1980s and 1990s I worked with a theater group, Theater Adelante, that performed plays in Spanish throughout the West Coast providing anti-pesticide information. Stories about our work appeared in over fifty newspapers and magazines as well as National Public Radio and PBS; they have been the subject of several PhD dissertations. I played the piano for several cabaret groups, performing throughout the Northwest. (We once opened for the rock band “Toto”!) Among other projects, I co-authored the play with Marcos Martinez, “Holy Dirt”, that has been produced throughout the United States and other countries.
I am married to Sandy Stein Ryan, an artist and former professor of art at Oregon State University. We have three children, Tammy, Lisa, and Jeff, and ten grandchildren. I was born in Los Angeles, California. My mother was Jessica Cadwalader Ryan, author of several novels and children’s books and the founder of the Oakwood School in Los Angeles. (See http://www.oakwoodschool.org). My father was Robert Ryan, a movie star of the 1940’s-1960’s best known for his work in film noir and cowboy movies. (See his IMDB profile) Both my parents were deeply committed to education and human rights. I owe my social conscience and academic achievements entirely to them.
