Acedia and student life: Ancient Christian wisdom for addressing boredom, distraction, and over-commitment in undergraduates

Although the deadly vice of acedia is prevalent in contemporary student culture, it is often misunderstood as mere carelessness. This article reconstructs the ancient meaning of acedia, highlighting its outward markers and arguing for a complex account of its internal motivations grounded in the wor...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of Christianity & education
Main Author: Aijian, J. L. (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Sage [2017]
In: International journal of Christianity & education
IxTheo Classification:FB Theological education
KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
NBE Anthropology
Further subjects:B Accidie
B Seven Deadly Sins
B Boredom
B Anxiety
B John Cassian
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:Although the deadly vice of acedia is prevalent in contemporary student culture, it is often misunderstood as mere carelessness. This article reconstructs the ancient meaning of acedia, highlighting its outward markers and arguing for a complex account of its internal motivations grounded in the work of John Cassian. These insights are then applied to the experience of contemporary educators with students who are listless or distracted. Students who manifest acedia ought to be understood as not merely careless, but possibly suffering from a kind of paralysis brought on by anxiety or despair. Finally, Cassian suggests some remedies available to educators.
ISSN:2056-9971
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal of Christianity & education
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/2056997117725343