Generation at the Crossroads: Apathy and Action on the American Campus

by Paul Rogat Loeb

Book Overview

Challenging prevailing media stereotypes, Generation at the Crossroads explores the beliefs and choices of the students who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s. For seven years, at over a hundred campuses in thirty states, Paul Loeb asked students about the values they held. He examines their concepts of responsibility, the links they draw between present and future, and how they view themselves in relation to the larger human community in which they...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813521440
• ISBN13: 9780813521442
• Release Date: September 1994
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 458 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Important For Those Who Care About Youth & Political Apathy

I think Loeb really gets to the point about what drives and motivates much of my generation, the 20-somethings and early 30-somethings. He knew back in early '90s how young people felt: what their attitudes and understanding were on our society, our nation's institutions (goverment, media, business, special interest groups), and our hopes for the future were like.And what he knows is still true and will continue to be true in the years to come. Loeb's interviews gave him a strong understanding of why the young, intelligent, hard-working people of America would feel so disenchanted, disillusioned, and (deep down) betrayed by the purveyors (our so-called leaders) of politics and activism.Part of it is the lessened sense of security about the future. Part of it is the futility felt when listening to yet another campaign promise, or the shame felt when seeing others more active and involved than oneself - causing one to hide in apathy from the former, while lashing out at the activist "saints" in the latter case.If you want to understand more about what's going on in the minds of today's youth regarding politics and activism from a sympathetic, yet objective, point of view, I recommend that you read this book. The first step towards rejuvenation of a thriving political spirit is to understand the depths of its decline and the reasons for it.