CHAPTER 6: Pedagogy of Vulnerability: Definitions, Assumptions, and Applications

Should higher education be about life, or something else? Palmer and Zajonc (2010) asked this similar question. What are the very purposes of higher education? The answers, of course, vary: nation-building; economic growth; global competition; status quo reproduction; social, economic, and political transformation via access and opportunity for all; social justice and peace; enlightened, ethical citizenry; pro-social attitudes; social responsibility; purpose and meaning in life; and wisdom and spiritual growth are but a few possible answers

At present, is higher education a pursuit that cultivates “soft-infrastructure” vital to a democratic, pluralistic society? In cultivating soft infrastructure, we build the inner technology vital to happy, healthy, and productive people and societies as we simultaneously develop our outer technologies. Yet how do begin to re-envision the purposes of higher education when the questions are so large and our own agency feels stifled at times amid larger forces and barriers? Begin with yourself, begin with your classroom, begin with your institution.