Worlding Pedagogies in the Time of Planetary Crisis: Aesthetic Practices Beyond Hope and Despair

This paper explores climate pedagogy through the idea of worlding pedagogies and argues that this can move educators beyond polarized feelings of hope and despair. Unpacking the idea of worlding to include multiple worldviews and sensory experiences, the chapter examines specifically the aesthetic dimensions of pedagogical practices and how they allow for new forms of co-becoming for children and youth. The first part of the chapter explores the difficulty teachers face in pedagogically traversing a difficult terrain in teaching about the climate emergency. Here I suggest a way of doing so is to find paths of co-creation, implication, and beauty beyond hope and despair. The second section delves into both the idea and practice of worlding and its pedagogical value, drawing on a number of examples from educational research. The third section offers a reading of a sculpture by renowned artist Cecilia Vicuña, entitled Brain Forest Quipu, in order to suggest how aesthetic encounters can further our understanding of the power of worlding pedagogies. Finally, the conclusion outlines what I see are some directions forward for thinking about teaching children and youth in the time of climate emergency.