Building resonance axes in a time of alienation
(2026) Ethics and Education — Vol. early view, p. 1-12 (2026)
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- Adolescence is marked by pervasive experiences of alienation, yet itis also the period in which long-term ‘resonance axes’ begin to takeshape. Drawing on Hartmut Rosa’s account of the dialectic betweenalienation and resonance, this paper argues that schools playa decisive role in determining whether adolescent estrangementbecomes corrosive or instead contributes to later resonance. I firstexamine how educational institutions can welcome alienation bycreating curricular, linguistic, institutional, and relational conditionsthat allow students to articulate and interpret experiences of dis-connection. Such conditions can transform inevitable episodes ofalienation into opportunities for dispositional resonance. I thenaddress a tension within resonance theory: its sharp critique ofcompetence-based education and evaluation. While Rosa warnsthat skills, assessment, and competition are structurally alienating,competences also function as necessary resources for entering andsustaining resonance axes, and some evaluation is pedagogicallyunavoidable. The task is therefore to redesign assessment so that itsalienating tendencies are mitigated by strong pedagogical relation-ships. I propose distinguishing between ‘alienating alienation’ and‘resonant alienation’ to clarify how schools can convert short-termdisconnection into long-term resonance potential. Ultimately, cul-tivating resonance in a time of adolescent alienation requiresinvesting in teachers’ relational and institutional conditions.
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Cuneen, N. (2026). Building resonance axes in a time of alienation. Ethics and Education, early view, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2026.2674597 (Original work published 2026)