Fall Faculty Book Club
Spring 2021 Faculty Book Club
(Postponed from Fall 2020)
The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development is pleased to announce its Fourteenth Annual Fall Faculty Book Club. This fall we will be reading Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto by Kevin M. Gannon.
Here is a description of the book from the publisher:
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.
The Fall Faculty Book Club will meet three times this semester, so please only request a space if you are committed to attending all three of the following meetings:
- Monday, September 28, 4:00-5:30
- Monday, October 26, 4:00-5:30
- Monday, November 30, 4:00-5:30
If you are interested, please email Jay Todd. We will accept the first 10 people who respond, and will deliver the books as soon as possible.
We look forward to reading with you and learning with you!