Pedagogies of snark: learning through righteous, riotous rage in the youth climate movement

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the relationships between rage and humour as politicizing forces among youth climate activists. In the context of FossilFree UofT, a university-based climate action campaign, we traced the learning and political development of activists engaged in a Women's Caucus. We argue snark served the pedagogical purpose of grievance construction and identity development as it enabled participants to express rage, take an agentic stance toward solutions, and build solidarity. We argue that snark should be understood as a pedagogically productive process through which participants developed a political analysis, shared identity as feminists, shifted their epistemological orientations, and became practiced at being angry and advocating for their own leadership.