Pulled Up Short is a podcast that aims to create moments of being “pulled up short”—experiences of surprise and curiosity when we encounter an idea, text, or experience that challenges our ways of thinking and deeply held assumptions about the world. 

In order to create more moments of being “pulled up short” we need to cultivate several dispositions. We must recognize unquestioned presuppositions and entertain the possibility that they may be incomplete or distorting. We must be open to questions about and alternative formulations of the issue at hand. We must go beyond superficial insights to consider alternative ways of thinking about and living in the world. 

By cultivating experiences in which we are “pulled up short,” we also adopt several values: 

  • a commitment to imaginative vision, to seeing the world anew; 
  • a commitment to rigor, to systematic inquiry wherever it leads; 
  • a commitment to openness, to move beyond dogmatism and consider alternative beliefs and practices;
  • a commitment to conversation, to inquiring jointly with others;
  • a commitment to fostering the development of relevant dispositions in young people. 

This podcast facilitates moments in which we are “pulled up short,” creating a community of thoughtful participants who are committed to this distinctive kind of inquiry.

Goals

Facilitate the experience of being “pulled up short”

Develop a community of individuals with relevant dispositions

Institutionalize the practice of seeing the world anew

Exemplify the aforementioned values and commitments

Pulled Up Short is distributed in collaboration with the , the world’s largest scholarly and professional organization of anthropologists. The Association is dedicated to advancing human understanding and applying this understanding to the world’s most pressing problems.

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