Describing hope, Rebecca Solnit has written, “Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency.” Grounded in feminist and queer theory and scholarship from the environmental humanities, this course examines the frailties, challenges, and promises of hope in trying times. Drawing on the insights of scholars and activists, including adrienne maree brown, Kyle Powys Whyte, and Francesca Polletta, we will examine how ideas and practices of hope—and its inverses—shape projects for collective world-making in the present and the future.
Gen&WS 449: Special Topics in Feminist Theory – Hope in Theory & Practice
Download GWS 449-Hope in Theory & Practice-Spring 2026