Higher education has seen better days. Harsh budget cuts, the
precarious nature of employment in college teaching, and political
hostility to the entire enterprise of education have made for an
increasingly fraught landscape. Radical Hope is an ambitious
response to this state of affairs, at once political and
practical—the work of an activist, teacher, and public intellectual
grappling with some of the most pressing topics at the intersection
of higher education and social justice.
Kevin Gannon asks
that the contemporary university’s manifold problems be approached
as opportunities for critical engagement, arguing that, when done
effectively, teaching is by definition emancipatory and hopeful.
Considering individual pedagogical practice, the students who are the
primary audience and beneficiaries of teaching, and the institutions
and systems within which teaching occurs, Radical Hope surveys
the field, tackling everything from impostor syndrome to cell phones
in class to allegations of a campus “free speech crisis.”
Throughout, Gannon translates ideals into tangible strategies and
practices (including key takeaways at the conclusion of each
chapter), with the goal of reclaiming teachers’ essential role in
the discourse of higher education.