How Stories Shape Society | Dr. Joshua Phillips on Culture, Reading, and Education

What happens when a society loses touch with the stories, books, and ideas that helped build it? In this episode of Resilience Redefined, Michael sits down with Dr. Joshua Phillips, Teaching Professor at Penn State Brandywine, to explore rhetoric, cultural literacy, education, and the enduring influence of foundational texts on modern life. Drawing on his work as a rhetorician, Dr. Phillips explains how stories, messages, and cultural narratives shape individual behavior and collective identity. The conversation examines the role of classical literature in preserving cultural knowledge, the challenges facing modern education, and why reading remains one of the most powerful tools for developing critical thinking and resilience. Michael and Joshua discuss the decline of deep reading, the shift from complete books to excerpts in schools, the educational challenges facing young people today, and the importance of maintaining shared cultural reference points across generations. The discussion also explores practical recommendations for readers looking to build a stronger foundation in literature and culture, including works by Homer, Shakespeare, Virgil, Dickens, Austen, Twain, and other influential authors whose ideas continue to shape society centuries later. Despite concerns about literacy and education, Dr. Phillips offers a hopeful perspective on the future, highlighting growing interest among younger generations in classical literature, long-form reading, and deeper intellectual engagement.   Topics include: • Rhetoric and cultural persuasion • How stories shape behavior and identity • Cultural literacy and shared narratives • Classical education and the Western Canon • Challenges facing modern education • The decline of deep reading • Foundational books everyone should consider reading • Educational trends among Gen Z • Building lifelong reading habits • Developing resilience through learning and intellectual growth   Guest: Dr. Joshua Phillips Teaching Professor, Penn State Brandywine   Faculty Profile: https://www.brandywine.psu.edu/person/joshua-phillips   Follow Joshua: https://twitter.com/JoshPhillipsPhD