Professor Litfin was correct when she pointed out the high level of general anxiety in the generations of students she has taught most recently. Questions about how our political, social and economic systems impact a range of people with different levels of access are nothing new. However, there is more access to a wealth of information from channels that circulate news and highlight problems, and provide somewhat depressing echo chambers. There is a higher sensitivity to the problems that impact people in the current generation of students, and because of this, it can be easiest to detach from the information itself. The overflow of information can be both empowering and overwhelming at the same time, and the contemplative practices help navigate the material in a more encouraging way. The contemplative practices help take a moment of mindfulness to focus on one singular concept, and connect to it in a more meaningful way.
Contemplative practice helps mitigate the despair and helplessness that can come from a 10-week class that tackles huge systemic failures. Taking a moment to actually relate to the information in the lessons makes it feel less abstract, and closer to the community that I am in. The issues that we talk about in the Political Ecology of the World Food System are global systemic issues that are complex and really hard to find solutions for. This isn’t exclusive to the world food system, and understanding how complicated and involved other systemic problems are can be debilitating, and the contemplative practices provide a moment of reflection to help calm the general anxiety. Centering my individual experience within parts of the world food system makes it easier to actually comprehend the information in class and taking a moment to be mindful makes the concept that we learn feel more valuable.
Hi Emma,
I really appreciate your conception of contemplative practices as a way to alleviate the massive amounts of stress and anxiety produced by the information revolution, and by all the critical theory that social science majors (especially marginalized students) handle on a daily basis. Although I personally believe there is room for improvement on the contemplative practices we do in class, I too have benefited in a similar way from them. Connecting this thought to Maniates and the conversation around civic engagement, I think these mindfulness practices will be necessary in the future if the American populous – specifically that of university students – is to make any real positive impact on the region, nation, or world.