Their Highest Vocation—Social Justice and the Millennial Generation

Millennials, the generation whose first members were born in 1982, have been characterized as rebelling by improving society. From observations of students in her social justice courses, Fox (U. of Michigan's Residential College) notes their confidence in their ability to change the increasingly complex world, but need for structure and few bonds beyond their digitally-networked social group. Taking the title from P. Freire's thesis that man's highest vocation is to become more fully human, she reflects on how progressive educators should respond to this paradox. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Helen Fox teaches about race and racism, human rights, peace activism, and international development at the University of Michigan’s Residential College. She is the author of Listening to the World: Cultural Issues in Academic Writing (1994), When Race Breaks Out: Conversations about Race and Racism in College Classrooms (2001, 2009), and the editor, with C. Schroeder and P. Bizzell, of ALT DIS: Alternative Discourses and the Academy (2002), as well as many articles, speeches, book chapters, and rambling notes on future projects.