Hope & Optimism

Hope & Optimism: Conceptual and Empirical Investigations (2013-2017) ($5.1 million) revitalized and extended the interdisciplinary investigation of hope and optimism across philosophy, theology, and the social sciences. The project awarded $2.3 million to researchers from North America, Europe, and the Near East to investigate and expand human understanding of the theoretical, empirical, and practical dimensions of hope, optimism, and related states. To date, the project has resulted in hundreds of presentations and publications, and has spurred the interest of numerous early career researchers.

Through stage and screen initiatives, we produced a new play that debuted in New York and Los Angeles, and awarded prizes to more than ten short films on the role of hope in human life. We also produced a number of short documentaries focusing on the work of researchers and artists involved in the project.

This four-year research initiative was led by Andrew Chignell, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor in Religion and Philosophy at Princeton University (previously at the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University during the project) and Samuel Newlands, William J. and Dorothy K. O'Neill Collegiate Professor in Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, and Co-Director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion.

For more information, visit the project website: hopeoptimism.com.

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