Читать книгу The Nature of College - James J. Farrell - Страница 12

College is not always a hopeful place. Fear of failing often animates more student activity than hope does. Fear of failing academically keeps students working on reading and research and class work, while fear of failing socially keeps students going along to get along, for fear that other students will make fun of them for their ideas and ideals. The unfortunate result is what anthropologist Michael Moffatt calls “undergraduate cynical,” a way of talking tough that hides the sensitivity that could make a person vulnerable or compassionate. Such a social construction of conversation reduces the unique space a college provides for “going deep”—for thinking unconventionally about the unconventional issues of our day.⁴

If we seriously contemplate the nature of hope, however, we can replace our coping mechanisms with hoping mechanisms. Histories of hope offer a usable past for environmental activists, and stories of new hope emerging in America (often on campuses) remind us that change is possible and that our beliefs and behaviors do matter.⁵