This book provides a concise interdisciplinary perspective on the emotion and practice of
'hope'. Based on the idea that hope is a dream that we carry in different ways the five
chapters draw on the author's original research and align it with literature on the sociology
of culture and emotion to explore the concept in relation to cultural and community practices
and mental health. The climate crisis violence hostility pandemics homelessness
displacement conflict slavery economic hardship and economic downturn loneliness anxiety
mental illness - are intensifying. There is a need for hope. There is also a need to confront
hope - what is hope and what can and cannot be achieved by hoping. This confrontation
includes distinguishing hope from wishful thinking and blind optimism. Using examples from
different spheres of social life including health religion music therapy migration and
social displacement the book sets the idea of hope in context of situations of uncertainty
challenge and pain and goes on to highlight the practical application of these ideas and
outline an agenda for further research on 'hope'.
