Contemplative Practices and Acts of Resistance in Higher Education: Narratives Toward Wholeness

The contributors to this volume – educators, student affairs practitioners, and higher education staff – heartfully share a broad range of contemplative practices and acts of resistance used within the confines of shattered systems and institutions for themselves, their colleagues, and their students. The narratives in this volume broadly imagine, inspire, recount, and guide readers toward the fullness of their humanity and wholeness within institutions of higher education. At the same time, these accounts navigate the operational realities of daunting demands on the mind, body, and spirit, the growing turbulence of working on higher education campuses across the country, and a sense of urgency toward collective life affirmation within modern higher education institutions. Each chapter features critical framing of a concept, personal stories of this concept in action, and descriptions of contemplative practices for readers to use in their own contexts. Together, chapter authors demonstrate what it means to be a contemplative practitioner attentive to issues of power, racism, and marginalization in higher education today. With a deep breath and mindful awareness, this book invites faculty and staff at colleges and universities on a transformational journey with the contributors toward fullness in pursuit of becoming whole and inspiring change.

Michelle C. Chatman is Associate Professor of Crime, Justice, and Security Studies, Director of the Violence Prevention and Community Wellness Program, and Founding Director of the Mindfulness and Courageous Action (MICA) Lab at the University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC.

LeeRay Costa is Executive Director of Leadership Studies and the Batten Leadership Institute, and Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies/Anthropology at Hollins University, Roanoke, VA.

David W. Robinson-Morris is former Executive Director of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society (CMind), the Founder of The REImaginelution, and inaugural Executive Director of the Institute for Black Intellectual and Cultural Life at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH.