Joy as subversive defiance

Abstract

The argument of this paper is that the experience and performance of joy can be a radical and subversive act of pedagogical agency. Although joy may seem out of place and out of touch in academia given the increased surveillance and policing of what is being taught in the classroom, and neoliberal administrative structuring prioritising uniformity and outcomes at the expense of creativity, it is here, under this oppositional structure, where joy is most subversive precisely because it is this dimension of human emotion that is increasingly being crowded out and disciplined in universities. Joy, as a positive emotion and dimension of wellbeing, has an underappreciated radical dimension only appreciable in contrast to its negative or oppositional dimension. Although joy has been a theme in pedagogy, its subversive possibilities there remain largely unpacked. This paper theorises joy through two themes that express its radical possibilities in and beyond the classroom. Specifically, joy is a relational and publicly embodied affect providing strength for the teacher, inspiration for students, and signalling resistance and defiance to structures of oppression. The paper concludes by acknowledging the risks and limits of joy that nevertheless are outweighed by its sustaining features found in our vocation.