Hopelessly joyful in dreadful times

Abstract

This article argues that hope is not an adequate affective response to dread. Indeed, hope and dread are more closely aligned than either critical or postcritical forms of educational philosophy would like to admit. The article proposes a shift from hope to joy as an under appreciated educational affect. To make this claim, the author pivots to Spinoza’s emphasis on joy as an affect that increases one’s potential to think and act in a world with others as a new starting point for education in dreadful times. The article also offers a Spinozian reading of Freire that unlocks the joyful dimensions of his work, especially through his reflections on laughter. In conclusion, a hopelessly joyful affective orientation is called for as a form of passionate educational experimentation with the potentiality of the world.

Keywords:

• Affect theory
• critical pedagogy
• postcritical pedagogy
• Freire
• laughter
• Hannah Arendt

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tyson E. Lewis

Dr. Tyson E. Lewis is a professor of art education in the College of Visual Arts at the University of North Texas. His most recent book is Educational Potentialities: Collected Talks on Revolutionary Education, Organizing, and Aesthetics (Iskra Books, 2023).