Friends for the Movement: Emotion and Learning in the Balance of Intrinsic and Strategic Relations

Abstract

This paper contributes to recent theorization of relationships in the learning sciences using the case of an animal rights activist group. Drawing on ethnographic data from participant observation and interviews, I argue that the emotionality of being part of the activist community provided intrinsic value but also became part of instrumental understandings that linked feeling “empowered” by the community to practices like speaking up for one’s values and participating in direct action. I introduce the concept of casual emotion work to describe how seemingly non-pedagogical practices during community social events can support the uptake of ways of feeling that are understood as strategically valuable for broader social transformation. The study has implications for how learning scientists understand emotion as a dimension of relationality with consequences for both learning and politics.