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44 pages 1 hour read

Rebecca Solnit

Hope In The Dark: The Untold History of People Power

Nonfiction | Essay Collection | Adult | Published in 2004

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Essay Topics

1.

Why does Solnit consider history a useful tool for activists? Why do past events provide grounds for hope?

2.

What is Solnit’s stance on populist and grassroots movements? How does her attitude compare to the understanding of these terms in today’s liberal media?

3.

How would you describe Solnit’s vision of a dark future? What promises does it hold? Why might some people resist this vision?

4.

Why does the fight against climate change require hope in the dark?

5.

How does Solnit’s Angel of Alternate History compare to Walter Benjamin’s original Angel of History? Why do you think she updated Benjamin’s model?

6.

How does Solnit present the relationship between the center and the margins? How does the trajectory of social change work within this relationship?

7.

Why does Solnit find visions of utopia and paradise unhelpful to activism? Why might activists who aim for such perfection despair and give up?

8.

How does Solnit portray the relationship between hope and despair? Why does despair paradoxically feel safer than hope?

9.

How would you describe Solnit’s stance on ideology? To what end does she suggest that activists share common beliefs and goals to achieve a better world?

10.

Closely referencing the book, state why you think it remains a comfort and inspiration to activists. To what extent do you think that Solnit’s arguments in the book are perennially relevant? Are any parts dated?

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