American Dream (SparkNotes Literature Guide Series) Book

I was introduced to the ethic of risk by a speaker to a social change volunteer group of which I'm a member. This book and its author was that speaker's introduction to the ethic of risk and her vehicle for introducing it to us. It is an academic book, written by a Religious Studies professor and takes some study to get to all the meanings. Welch uses literature by African American women (Paule Marshall, Toni Cafe Bambara, Mildred Turner and Toni Morrison) to construct and illustrate her concepts and argument. She also uses theologists's thought, including that of Paul Tillich. The ethic of risk is encountered when working for social change. Its opposite is the ethic of control. Learning to understand the ethic of risk , learning to understand those who have lived it, can give an activist support to continue in the face of big issues. It is particularly of interest to any activist now, in 2019, when the challenges are huge for social change and social justice. I admit that parts of this book were tough to understand, and it was revised in 2000, originally written in 1989, so some references can be dated. But it is so heloful in learning to see a way through without giving up in despair, and in helping the reader to understand the importance of listening to those who have lived the social challenges all their lives. I'll certsinly be reading the books she discusses. And I'll be reading and studying this book for a long time to come.