This paper seeks to reclaim irony as more than a way of humorously pointing out that the times we live in are out of joint or coming to an end, instead emphasizing its potential as a productive force and method in both educational thinking and teaching practice. By interrogating the educative potential of irony as method and humorous experience in…

Television has the potential to be a vector for mainstream audiences to learn about climate change and feel motivated to act. Comedic framings of climate change, while well-studied in television news and late-night comedies, remain under-explored in scripted television comedies. The goal of this study was to use frame analysis to understand…

Because of their mostly upbeat everyday presence in most people's lives globally, Internet memes have gained attention as tools in spreading information and enacting attitudinal change in the face of environmental troubles. The reappropriation of memes for classroom purposes is not straightforward, however. We focus our exploration of Internet…

Recently there has been an increase in scientists, educators, and activists moving into comedy to tell the climate story. Could using humour as an educational method encourage a greater response to the climate crisis? The present research addresses this question by exploring the impact that an environmental-based comedy show had on various…

This article brings together a feminist environmentalist cartoonist with a feminist environmental educator in an exploration of the generativity of cartoons in environmental education research and teaching. Using duoethnography as a methodology, and drawing on critical and new materialist feminist theory, we explore our personal memories, stories,…

A marked feature of the political tactics of the transnational School Strike 4 Climate movement (also known as Fridays for Futures and Youth Strike for Climate) has been the use of humour on cardboard signs, digital memes and social media posts. Young people's cardboard signs, memes and social media posts have frequently mobilised humour as public…

In this inquiry, I explore, expose, and extrapolate upon sociopolitical and environmental absurdism as an environmental academic and educator based in Alberta, Canada--a well-known, and somewhat infamous, centre of oil and gas production and energy development in general. Moving beyond Alberta as a catalytic example, I introduce and discuss…

Misinformation about climate change is a consequential societal issue, causing polarization and reduced support for climate action. However, the seriousness of the problem does not preclude non-serious solutions. There are numerous potential benefits to humor as a strategy to counter misinformation, such as attracting attention and engaging…

Humor has received increasing attention in environmental educational research in recent years as it can have a variety of positive effects on learning atmosphere, outcomes, and student-educator relationships. In most cases, humor is used by educators while students act as consumers. However, this does not exploit the full potential of humor for…

In this article, I share with the reader my journey into environmental education, and how I came to understand that even an urbanite like me has something to offer. I look to the work of Indigenous scholars to frame the ways in which Indigenous pedagogies, combined with environmental, place-based, and land-based pedagogies, form a matrix of…

Humor can facilitate relationship-building and comfort in new experiences, essential elements for nature education programs prioritizing inclusive practices. This article presents insights on using humor in outdoor educational settings from a qualitative case study of an equity-driven nature education program. I present four key elements of…

The blending of entertainment and education is often used as a mechanism for communicating science to the general public. Key to dissemination of scientific information is cognitive engagement of the audience with the content. The authors describe a study investigating the relationship between entertaining videos and cognitive engagement of the…