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Teaching at Twilight
The Meaning of Education in the Age of Collapse
by Ahmed Afzaal
Foreword by John B. Cobb Jr.
Imprint: Cascade Books
This book delivers an unsettling but urgent message to all educators . . .
Today, humanity finds itself on the cusp of a long period of inexorable decline and disruption, the likes of which no previous generation has experienced. Large-scale behavioral changes are imperative, not necessarily to "save the planet" but to reduce unnecessary pain and suffering. Yet, the vast majority of educators are still functioning in the "normal" mode, teaching the same subjects and skills, year after year, even as the nature of the challenges our students will face is undergoing dramatic changes. This mismatch is causing a moral and spiritual crisis that is threatening to make our lives and our work meaningless.
Teaching at Twilight invites all educators to take an unflinching look at the rapidly deteriorating state of the earth's life-support system, become aware of its implications for human civilization, and rethink their responsibility in light of that awareness. The book attempts to answer, from an educator's viewpoint, the practical but challenging question that Roy Scranton posed a few years ago: "We Are Doomed. Now What?"
Ahmed Afzaal is associate professor of religion at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.
“Teaching at Twilight offers an unflinching account of today’s chaos and the unfolding collapse, yet there’s a loving kindness in Ahmed Afzaal’s reflections on how to teach with meaning and how to help students find meaning. The book is intense but calming, bold, and careful, acknowledging the urgency but with patience for the struggles that we all go through in coming to terms with harsh realities.”
—Robert Jensen, professor emeritus of journalism and media, University of Texas at Austin
“Combining wisdom and compassion, Ahmed Afzaal digs deep to the roots of our civilization’s predicament, pulling no punches while managing to supply gentle support for the reader on a difficult but crucial journey. While written for educators, anyone would benefit from this highly accessible, conversational exposition that helps us make sense of the unravelling around us and find meaningful ways to confront the challenges ahead.”
—Tom Murphy, professor of physics, University of California, San Diego
“In this groundbreaking work, Ahmed Afzaal makes the case for both the necessity of and moral obligation for teachers to question why we educate, how we educate, and what education is for in this time of collapse. The edifice upon which our education system was built, as a part of modern fossil-fueled civilization, is crumbling beneath our feet. For educators and students alike, this book is mandatory reading if future generations are to be intellectually and psychologically equipped to live on the rapidly changing Earth.”
—Dahr Jamail, author of The End of Ice
“Colleges and universities operate on the assumption that the future will be better than the present and that the job of the professor is to prepare students for this future by teaching them certain skills and value-free information. Teaching at Twilight rejects this unwarranted assumption and explores what it means to teach young people knowing that the future will be extremely difficult. I urge you to read it.”
—Marcus Ford, author of Beyond the Modern University
“Young people already know how difficult the future is becoming. Rather than gaslighting them, educators can meet them with the honesty, humility, compassion, and usefulness that Ahmed Afzaal demonstrates in this book. Teaching at Twilight will help you with an incredibly challenging but deeply meaningful engagement with young people as they seek out the glimmering lights of living beyond a society that caused such carnage.”
—Jem Bendell, author of Breaking Together
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