Jessica Riddell – författare

How do we model abundance and generosity – in teaching, in learning, in leading organizations, particularly non-profits – when dealing with fiscal austerity and other forms of scarcity thinking? Hope Circuits explores this question, presenting sophisticated ideas that support democratizing higher education for everybody.

Written in a conversational style that draws upon Jessica Riddell’s experience in governance, senior administration, and scholarship, the book is a how-to guide and thought leadership manifesto for developing the conceptual tools to seek solutions to higher education’s most pressing issues. Hope Circuits aims to rewire mindsets, perspectives, and behaviours to in turn rewire and renew the systems within which university stakeholders learn, live, and work. It tackles this challenging feat by suggesting ten tools to build hope circuits, a concept borrowed from neuroscience.

Riddell acknowledges that changing systems and deep cultures is not for the faint of heart; indeed, the more than 250 interviews conducted with thought partners for Hope Circuits expose how individuals who navigate complex systems regularly experience discomfort and even despair. In response, she shows us how to anchor a practice of hope in higher education with focus and intention, inviting others to adopt and adapt her approach.

How do we model abundance and generosity – in teaching, in learning, in leading organizations, particularly non-profits – when dealing with fiscal austerity and other forms of scarcity thinking? Hope Circuits explores this question, presenting sophisticated ideas that support democratizing higher education for everybody.

Written in a conversational style that draws upon Jessica Riddell’s experience in governance, senior administration, and scholarship, the book is a how-to guide and thought leadership manifesto for developing the conceptual tools to seek solutions to higher education’s most pressing issues. Hope Circuits aims to rewire mindsets, perspectives, and behaviours to in turn rewire and renew the systems within which university stakeholders learn, live, and work. It tackles this challenging feat by suggesting ten tools to build hope circuits, a concept borrowed from neuroscience.

Riddell acknowledges that changing systems and deep cultures is not for the faint of heart; indeed, the more than 250 interviews conducted with thought partners for Hope Circuits expose how individuals who navigate complex systems regularly experience discomfort and even despair. In response, she shows us how to anchor a practice of hope in higher education with focus and intention, inviting others to adopt and adapt her approach.

"What is the most wonderful thing about teaching this play in our classrooms?" Using this question as a starting point, Shakespeare’s Guide to Hope, Life, and Learning presents a conversation between four of Shakespeare’s most popular plays and our modern experience, and between teachers and learners.

The book analyzes King Lear, As You Like It, Henry V, and Hamlet, revealing how they help us to appreciate and responsibly interrogate the perspectives of others. Award-winning teachers Lisa Dickson, Shannon Murray, and Jessica Riddell explore a diversity of genres – tragedy, history, and comedy – with distinct perspectives from their own lived experiences. They carry on lively conversations in the margins of each essay, mirroring the kind of open, ongoing, and collaborative thinking that Shakespeare inspires.

The book is informed by ideas of social justice and transformation, articulated by such thinkers as Paulo Freire, Parker J. Palmer, Ira Shor, John D. Caputo, and bell hooks. Shakespeare’s Guide to Hope, Life, and Learning advocates for a critical hope that arises from classroom experiences and moves into the world at large.