Abstract

Over the past few decades, there has been a complicated and often paradoxical public dialogue around the idea of hope. While hope has always been called upon as part of the struggle for social justice and as a motivator and sustainer of work toward creating a better world; it is also something many see as fleeting and naïve, something that can actually get in the way of righteous indignation and revolutionary action. Hope has been discussed as a character trait, similar to grit, for example, as something that successful people possess.1 It has also been described as a habit and way of being in the world that can be nurtured. Former President Obama's election campaigns were built around audacious hope,2 and for a...