Radical Humility: Essays on Ordinary Acts - Paperback

by Rebekah Modrak (Author)

An innovative, "valuable" collection of essays by Charles M. Blow, Agnes Callard, and more on the personal and civic function of humility (Literature Lust).

What does humility mean and why does it matter in an age of golden escalators and multibillionaires? How can the cultivation of humility empower us to see success in failure, to fight against injustice, to stretch beyond our usual ways of thinking, and to foster a culture of listening in an age of digital shouting? With contributions from renowned scholars as well as psychologists, artists, and many others, Radical Humility: Essays on Ordinary Acts offers guidance. Having witnessed the personal and civic costs of narcissism and arrogance, these and other writers consider humility as a valuable process―a state of being―with the power to impact institutions, systems, families, and individuals, and give voice to the ways in which humility is practiced in many ordinary but extraordinary actions.

This groundbreaking collection is a thought-provoking read for anyone seeking alternatives to a culture of self-aggrandizing excess.

Author Biography

Rebekah Modrak is a writer and interventionist artist whose artworks resist consumer culture. Re Made Co. (remadeco.org) poses as an online company to recreate actual company Best Made Co., seller of $350 luxury hand-painted axes, by promoting ($350) artisanal toilet plungers. RETHINK SHINOLA (rethinkshinola.com) guides viewers through the Shinola company's past and present of marketing White supremacy. Hyperallergic, Core77, The Creators Project, Detroit MetroTimes, Design Observer, and other publications, have written about her work. She is a Professor in the Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan.

Jamie Lausch Vander Broek is a Librarian for Art & Design at the University of Michigan. This summer, she bought a book made of cheese for her library. You can read about it on saveur.com. She holds a tailored Master's degree from the U-M School of Information in Art and Art Museum Librarianship, and received a B.A. in Art History with a minor in Italian Studies from Wellesley College. Since arriving in Ann Arbor, she has been active in the local art and book communities, and is currently on the board of the Ann Arbor District Library.

Vander Broek, Jamie Lausch (Editor), Ahuvia, Aaron (Contribution by), Belk, Russell (Contribution by), Blow, Charles (Contribution by), Boothman, Richard C (Contribution by), Brown, Ruth Nicole (Contribution by), Buss, Sarah (Contribution by), Callard, Agnes (Contribution by), Clemetson, Lynette (Contribution by), Danienta, Nadia (Contribution by), Denmead, Tyler (Contribution by), Duzyj, Mickey (Contribution by), Em, Kevin (Contribution by), Hamilton, Kevin (Contribution by), Jayawickreme, Eranda (Contribution by), Jollimore, Troy (Contribution by), Koenig, Melissa (Contribution by), Modrak, Rebekah (Contribution by), Rindfleisch, Aric (Contribution by), Rodman, Gilbert B (Contribution by), Tiberius, Valerie (Contribution by), Vander Broek, Jamie (Contribution by), Walsh, Ami (Contribution by), Wood, Jeremy (Contribution by), Cole Wright, Jennifer (Contribution by)