Reading in the Wake: Empathy Debates, “The Reader,” and Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child

Toni Morrison’s 2015 novel God Help the Child complicates both naïve celebrations and outright rejections of empathy as one of reading’s goals. Explicating the protagonist Bride’s journey as a primer in empathy, I argue that in centring a Black protagonist as Everyreader, Morrison undermines the implicit whiteness of both “the reader” and the subject of scientific study and moral theory. Yet the role of racial prejudice in Bride’s childhood trauma refuses to let readers forget that the source of her trouble is not her own moral failing but, rather, what Christina Sharpe calls “the weather” of white supremacy. By the novel’s end, empathy emerges as a powerful source of interpersonal and societal care across racial, class, and generational difference, but one that can be undermined by white supremacy at its most basic, pre-conscious functioning, rendering the role of literature to develop readers’ capacity to empathize across difference all the more important. Ultimately, Morrison’s allegory of readerly empathy challenges not just popular discussions of literature’s good but also the entire interdisciplinary conversation among literary scholars, cognitive psychologists, and neuroscientists by insisting that we attend to the specific but so far under-acknowledged role of racism in the development, practice, and study of empathy.

Stosunek do przeszłości jako czynnik kształtujący pokoleniowe autoidentyfikacje młodzieży w krajach postkomunistycznych

When we observe the social and political life in post-communist countries, we can also notice that generations of people born after the fall of communism are beginning to play an increasingly important role in shaping the views and political preferences of the whole society. Young people socialized in significantly different conditions than their parents’ generation represent (in many areas) attitudes that indicate their “generational difference”. The aim of the article is to describe and explain to what extent the assessments of systemic transformation in chosen post-communist countries are determined by the age of citizens. The author analyzes secondary data from surveys on public opinion in the following countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine. In order to explain how young people perceive their position in relation to the older generation, which remembers the communist era, an appropriate case study was conducted. The study was conducted among students from six academic centers in Ukraine (Kyiv, Lviv, Nizhyn, Pereiaslav, Sumy, and Uzhhorod). It was found that the strength of the relationship between age and the perception of systemic change varies across countries. The deepest divisions between the older and younger generations were identified in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Bulgaria. It was also found that the young generation of contemporary Ukraine is trying to emphasize its own generational difference by creating its own political identity in opposition to the features attributed to older generations.

Inclusive masculinity and Czechia youth

In this, the first investigation of inclusive masculinities among 18- to 19-year-old Czech students, the authors interviewed 19 participants from a rural part of the country. The purpose of this research was to identify attitudes of young, rural, Czech men toward homosexuality and examine for perceived generational difference compared to men who emerged under communism. Results showed evidence of inclusive masculinities for these rural youth based in three principal categories: (1) positive attitudes toward homosexuality; (2) openness to a bromance with a gay male (dependent on gender typicality); and (3) perceived generational differences in gay acceptance compared to their parents’ generation. Overall, results therefore show that young men in this rural part of Czechia are enacting more inclusive forms of masculinity than possible under communist rule.

Predictors of applicant attraction among Gen-X and millennials: evidence from an emerging economy

PurposeA better understanding of applicant attraction enables organizations to manage their talent needs, thus enhancing HR effectiveness. Even though generational difference exists in modern organizations, scholarly work investigating the salient predictors of applicant attraction between the Gen-X and millennial cohorts is missing. The authors attempt to inform the literature by addressing this gap.Design/methodology/approachThe study captures applicant attraction using a survey-based study of 1949 working employees in India, representing Gen-X and millennial generations.FindingsThe study provides critical factors that differentially impact millennial and Gen-X members' attraction toward an organization. It also reveals that satisfaction in the current job affects millennials and the Gen-X cohorts differently.Research limitations/implicationsRecruitment research has neglected the predictors of applicant attraction among generational cohorts. Further, studies on generational differences have originated in western contexts and have ignored the emerging economies. Based on the responses of working professionals, our study increases the generalizability of the results.Practical implicationsThe multi-generational workplace has the largest proportion of both Gen-X and millennial employees. A deeper understanding of their preferences can help HR practitioners leverage the drivers of applicant attraction. The study provides inputs to design recruitment strategies to target generational groups within and outside the organization.Originality/valueThe present study examines the phenomenon in an emerging market marked by a high economic growth rate and an eastern cultural context. The study presents a more realistic representation of applicant needs by sourcing inputs from working employees across generation groups.

Experiences of post-traditional students in age-diverse student affairs preparation programmes

The value of lifelong learning and alterations in course delivery modes and programme structures of graduate education to include evening and weekend coursework have increased the presence of multiple generations in educational settings ( Sánchez & Kaplan, 2014 ). In a number of fields, such as business and public administration, age diversity in graduate education is common. Historically, for student affairs preparation programmes (SAPPs), however, age diversity was still not consistently seen across programmes. However, as age diversity increases in SAPPs as programmes restructure to appeal to students with a variety of life experiences, opportunities to embrace intergenerational learning become available. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 13 post-traditional master’s degree students in SAPPs across the U.S. to understand their experiences in a multigenerational academic programme and how they navigate generational difference. Three themes emerged: honouring lived experiences in the educational experience, generational differences in understanding diversity and social interactions across generations in a community of learners. Recommendations for SAPP faculty to negotiate generational differences in learning spaces are provided.

Digital Traces of Sexualities: Understanding the Salience of Sexual Identity through Disclosure on Social Media

The authors analyze the expression of sexualities in the contemporary United States using data about disclosure on social media. Through the Facebook advertising platform, the authors collect aggregate counts encompassing 200 million Facebook users, 28 percent of whom disclose sexuality-related information. Stratifying by age, gender, and relationship status, the authors show how these attributes structure the propensity to disclose different sexual identities. There is a large generational difference; younger social media users share their sexualities at high rates, while for older cohorts marital status substitutes for sexual identity. Consistent with gendered expectations, women more often express a bisexual interest in men and women; men are more explicit about their heterosexuality. The authors interpret these variations in sexuality disclosure on social media to reflect the salience of sexual identity, intersected at times with availability. This study contributes to the sociology of sexuality with a quantitative analysis, using novel digital data, of how sexuality is signaled socially.