“A good hell”: absurdist insights for environmental education & research

Abstract

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 various forms of and themes within absurdist literature, theatre, and activism. In closing, I consider the theoretical and pedagogical potential of absurdism for environmental education scholarship and practice.

Keywords:

• Absurdism
• environmental
• education
• research
• Alberta

Background & context

The Canadian province of Alberta is a well-known centre of oil and gas development, perhaps most infamously for its oil/tar sands (Black et al., 2014). With a return to conservative rule in 2019 after a relatively short-lived social democratic era, the provincial government, under the leadership of Premier Jason Kenney, established itself with renewed vigour in defense of the oil and gas industry and promises to contest and prove wrong all of its perceived detractors, domestic and international alike. A central pillar of this strategy was the establishment of the Canadian Energy Centre, commonly known and described by the government itself as an “energy war room” (Heydari, 2019). The war room was founded with the expressed intent to combat misinformation regarding the oil and gas industry, much of which, they incorrectly argued, originates from “foreign-funded” environmental groups (Johnson, 2021; Leavitt, 2020). Despite being touted as an independent body, the energy war room initially received thirty million dollars per year of public funds, until a series of scandals and failed initiatives befitting satirical theatre, and the COVID-19 pandemic, led the government to significantly reduce its support in recent budgetary adjustments (PressProgress, 2021).

The conservative government’s quixotic defense of oil and gas and associated disregard for the much-needed transition to cleaner, low carbon energy sources required to combat the current global climate crisis (Parks & Walker, 2020) is somewhat comical, but it is also a source of persistent and serious concern. These dynamics were well-illustrated by a recent political cartoon that depicted Premier Jason Kenney as a knight armed with a pipe, astride a horse draped in the Alberta flag, ostensibly preparing to challenge an electrical windmill (MacKinnon, 2019).

The energy war room

The Alberta energy war room has been beset by a series of controversies from the outset including copyright infringement related to its original logo which appeared to have been copied from another organization; an ill-advised feud with the New York Times (Leach, 2020); and a haphazard multi-year inquiry into foreign funding of “anti-Alberta” environmental campaigns that was beset by controversy from the start and recently concluded with the discovery of minimal evidence of such activities (French, 2021; Johnson, 2021).

The public value and seriousness of the government funded war room has come under further scrutiny due to its engagement with further arguably frivolous activities such as campaigning against the children’s film, Bigfoot, which they believed portrayed the oil and gas industry in an unfair manner (CEC Staff, 2021; Dryden, 2021). More notably, in a storyline befitting a satirical political comedy of errors, the energy war room’s own staffers repeatedly misrepresented themselves as “reporters” during interviews to inform articles for their organizational website (Ferris, 2020; Leach, 2020). These actions contravened the self-governing journalistic ethics adhered to by news media agencies across the political spectrum (Canadian Association of Journalists, 2011) and, as such, raised the ire of the Canadian press establishment (Weber, 2019). Due to the aforementioned ongoing controversies, the war room has attracted extensive, primarily critical, and sustained publicity.

In addition to the arguably humorous, but also deeply troubling, nature of the war room’s actions, I would suggest that they are representative of a deeper existential denial of the socioenvironmental impacts of oil and gas development by the current Alberta government and many of their supporters. As an environmental educator who has spent a majority of their life here in Alberta, such persistent dynamics can be demoralizing (Lowan-Trudeau, 2017)—it is consistently challenging to conduct environmentally related work in this province. Representative examples include a teacher being publicly maligned and threatened by parents for facilitating open inquiry into and discussions of the oil/tar sands (CBC Radio, 2019) and the provincial government attempting to rescind decades old coal mining restrictions (Joannou, 2021). Most recently, amidst the interrelated COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented (in Western Canada) summer heat wave, and incessant wildfire smoke (Alam, 2021; Bose-O’Reilly et al., 2021) that we felt viscerally in this region more intensely than ever before, increasing returns on oil and gas were uncritically celebrated in the local media (Stephenson, 2021).

Considering such tensions through an absurdist lens has provided me with temporary moments of personal solace. It has also led me to consider the broader and more profound implications and potential lessons of absurdism for environmental education scholarship and practice regarding relationships between human and non-human animals; sociopolitical tensions; activism; gender and sexuality; performance and creative praxis; and self-care amidst challenging times and contexts. Following an orienting discussion of the absurdist tradition in theatre, literature, and environmental activism, as well as potential critiques of and alternatives to Western absurdism, I further explore such dynamics and possibilities for environmental education and research below.

Absurdism

Absurdism is a well-established form of humour (Couder, 2019; Koltun, 2018). To be absurd is, indeed, to be comic, silly, and satirical; however, absurdism is also preoccupied with deeper existential questions regarding the meaning and purpose of life—i.e. the human condition in and of itself is absurd—as well as sociopolitical and environmental topics. Absurdism, although fairly well manifested in environmental activism (e.g. see https://www.beautifultrouble.org; https://theyesmen.org; Roy 2000, 2007) is relatively underexplored in environmental scholarship in general and environmental education in particular. However, the contributions of select scholars provide important insights (e.g. Lavery & Finburgh, 2015; Seymour 2012, 2018). Critically considering the role and potential of absurdism in contemporary socioenvironmental contexts requires an understanding of its roots in the Western literary tradition.

Absurdism is often associated with twentieth century European authors such as Albert Camus (1942/2004, 1971/1972) Franz Kafka (1915/1971; 1925/1998; 1926/1998), and George Orwell (1949/1968; 1956/2021). The dramatic works of Samuel Beckett (1954/2011) and Eugène Ionesco (1960) are well-known representations of the related tradition of the theatre of the absurd (Lavery & Finburgh, 2015). Absurdism may be further explored in historical and contemporary settings in relation to the interconnected dynamics of individual existentialism, sociopolitical tensions, and environmentally related themes such as zoomorphism, anthropomorphism, and environmental activism.

Existential absurdism

Camus’ (1942/2004) Myth of Sisyphus is a commonly noted discussion of existential absurdism wherein Camus considered the complexities of Sisyphus—whom he described as the “absurd hero” (p. 590) and “proletarian of the [Greek] gods” (p. 591) who condemned him to toil endlessly by pushing a boulder up a mountain only to see it roll to the bottom without ever reaching the summit. Camus (1971/1972) elaborated further on such existential meditations in A Happy Death, a semi-autobiographical novel, wherein the protagonist grapples with both the painful and wonderful absurdity of life. With reference to the existential growth of several of the main characters, Camus noted, “And with pain and joy, their hearts learned to hear that double lesson which leads to a happy death” (p. 102). Camus thus proposed that experiencing a happy death involves acknowledging the, often contradictory, complexities of existence; an unpredictable elixir of sorrow and happiness. For Camus, embracing such a view results in an overall feeling of contentment.

Camus (1942/2004) engaged further with existential complexity in an appendix to the Myth of Sysyphus that considered absurdism and the work of Kafka. In reflecting upon Sysyphus’ seemingly futile repetitive exertions, he noted that during such descents, metaphorical or otherwise, we often encounter fleeting moments of personal satisfaction, despite our apparent failure, and hope that next time might turn out better. These moments of hopeful reflection amidst seemingly impossible endeavours, Camus noted, often lead us to a renewed seriousness of purpose. In so doing, Camus addressed the potential of absurdity for catalyzing meaningful personal or collective action.

Sociopolitical absurdism

In addition to questions of individual existentialism, absurdism also commonly addresses sociopolitical themes. For example, as noted by Camus (1942/2004), Kafka’s (1925/1998; 1926/1998) The Trial and The Castle are strong examples wherein the protagonists must confront their own existential absurdity while navigating bizarre labyrinths of shifting and seemingly nonsensical social rules and dynamics that have come to be associated with the popular term “Kafkaesque” (Strelka, 1984). As such, The Trial and The Castle may be viewed as both existential treatises and sociopolitical critiques (Camus, 1942/2004).

More recently, Chan Koonchung’s (2009/2013) The Fat Years, drew attention to the sociopolitical absurdism inherent within past and present-day China. Koonchung’s semi-fictional and semi-autobiographical work (Isaacson, 2013) also raises questions regarding the existential struggle that many of us face regarding choosing to strive for and maintain critical awareness, painful as it may be, of the ills of our surrounding societies as opposed to blissfully allowing ourselves to be lulled into a sense of false bien-être/well-being through ignorance, willful or otherwise. One of Koonchung’s protagonists, Little Xi, describes this as choosing between a “good hell” and a “fake paradise” (pp. 114-115).

Orwell’s (1949/1968; 1956/2021) 1984 and Animal Farm are further examples of well-known sociopolitical absurdism. Both works present sharp critiques of social and political orders through allegory and satire, and in the case of Animal Farm, anthropomorphism, one form of human–non-human animal transformation common to environmentally-related absurdist works.

Environmental absurdism

Limited, but notable, examples of environmentally related absurdist scholarship are available. For example, Nicole Seymour (2012, 2018) engaged in examination of environmental absurdism. Seymour (2012) situated her scholarship as “irreverent ecocriticism” while lightheartedly acknowledging the potentially ephemeral absurdity and futility of environmentalism. However, similar to environmental education scholars Elin Kelsey and Carly Armstrong (2012) who seek hope amidst environmental disaster, Seymour argued against giving up and, as an antidote, advocated for recognizing the emotional complexity inherent in environmentally oriented teaching, scholarship, and day to day life.

Although not identified by the authors as absurdism specifically, related scholarly work has engaged with similar concepts such as the use of sarcasm as a catalyst for public engagement with climate change (Anderson & Becker, 2018). Allusions to the theatre of the absurd also arise in other scholarship that explores the relationships between comedy, satire, and climate change communication and education (Boykoff & Osnes, 2019; Chandler et al., 2020; Osnes et al., 2019; Skurka et al., 2019). Environmental absurdity is also evident in contemporary films such as Don’t Look Up (McKay, 2021), an allegorical engagement with climate change inaction through the metaphorical story of a catastrophic meteor hurtling towards earth amidst various instances of related political and financial profiteering (Kalmus, 2021).

In addition to such considerations, literary and theatrical environmental absurdism is often manifested in various forms of transformation such as zoomorphism and anthropomorphism (Anderton, 2015; Letemendia, 1992). Employing absurdist approaches has also become a common strategy for environmental activists (Boyd & Mitchell, 2012; Roy, 2000; 2007).

Environmental absurdity & transformation

Zoomorphism—wherein humans assume the forms and/or habits of other animals—and anthropomorphism—when other animals assume or are presented with human characteristics—are common themes throughout absurdist literature and theatre. As noted above, Orwell’s (1956/2021) Animal Farm is one popularly known allegorical example of anthropormophism within which non-human animals revolt and assume control of a farm in the English countryside with allusions to the Soviet Union (Letemendia, 1992). Eugène Ionesco’s (1960) play Rhinoceros, within which a majority of residents in a small French town gradually turn into rhinoceroses as a metaphor for the insidious infiltration of Nazi and fascist influence and ideals during World War II (Kennedy, 2020), is an example of transformative zoomorphism.

Kafka’s (1915/1971) The Metamorphosis is another intriguing example of zoomorphism (Anderton, 2015). The protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awakes to find himself transformed into a human-sized insect. Throughout the short story, amidst the understandable consternation of his family, he ruminates on his life’s activities and prospects as a disenchanted travelling salesperson. Gregor’s feelings of scurrying through life like an insect are made clear as his reflexive malaise is expressed regarding whom he has, or hasn’t, become in life and what he has or hasn’t achieved.

Transformation has also been employed by Western authors such as Virginia Woolf to engage with critical gender topics. For example, in Orlando, Woolf’s (1928/1956) titular protagonist moves through several centuries while shifting from male to female physicality along the way. This framing allowed Woolf, through her characters, to highlight and critically engage with gender inequities in European societies. Another example of transformation in absurdist literature is Flann O’Brien’s (1967/1999), The Third Policeman, a semi-fantastical tale set in the Ireland that may have anticipated later works on potential human-technology relationships and increasing enmeshment (e.g. Haraway, 2013). In a unique twist, human characters and their bicycles in The Third Policeman gradually adopt each other’s characteristics and properties, relative to the length of time spent together—a process that what we might most accurately term “velomorphism.”

Absurdist environmental activism

Absurdism has been a common tool of social and environmental activists for some time.

For example, the Raging Grannies are an international collective of women who employ humour in collective protests related to a range of social and environmental issues (raginggrannies.org; Roy, 2000; 2007). In their own words, the Raging Grannies are:

Totally non-violent, believe in only peaceful protest … [and are] best equipped to make public corrupt things that have been hidden (often for profit) … The delights of grannying include: dressing like innocent old ladies so we can get close to our “target” … satirizing evil-doing in public and getting everyone singing about it. Grannying is the least understood yet most powerful weapon we have. Sometimes, looking back, we can see that grannying was the only thing that could have met the need. (DeShaw, n.d., para. 1-4)

In a similarly irreverent—though perhaps a touch more extreme—spirit, activist duo Igor Vamos (a.k.a. Mike Bonnano) and Jacques Servin (a.k.a. Andy Bichilbaum) have also gained acclaim for the subversively absurd nature of their “culture jamming” interventions as “The Yes Men” (Boyd, 2005; Hynes et al., 2007). For example, The Yes Men once infiltrated the World Petroleum Expo in Calgary, Alberta to deliver a pointedly satirical keynote speech by fooling conference organizers into believing that they were legitimate spokespeople for the National Petroleum Council (NPC) and Exxon Mobil. To the, arguably ironic, shock and dismay of attendees, the speech culminated with the suggestion that the bodies of people who die from petroleum related climate catastrophe be used as alternative fuel in cases where remaining oil and gas infrastructure and products aren’t available (Keim, 2007).

Beautiful Trouble is another collective that has embraced the absurdist spirit through social and environmental activism. In addition to initiating a variety of creative and subversive initiatives around the world, the organizers of Beautiful Trouble also actively facilitate the learning and sharing of related strategies with an increasingly broad network of interested individuals and groups. Their website and associated handbook (Boyd & Mitchell, 2012; https://www.beautifultrouble.org) provide inspiring and instructive vignettes of activist initiatives. One such example is the PARK(ing) movement wherein mini pop-up parks with patches of grass, seating, and other features are installed in front of urban parking meters with the intention of stimulating casual and critical discussion and community connection in a lighthearted manner (https://beautifultrouble.org/toolbox/tool/park-ing-day/; Endres et al., 2014; Rebar, 2011).

Although absurdism has much to offer environmental scholarship and practice, it is also important to consider critiques and other related perspectives.

Critiques & other possibilities

For example, Thom Hamer (2020) provided an interesting critique of humorous receptions of absurdism from a Western European perspective. Hamer suggested that, due to the grave nature of much of the content considered within absurdist works, a more appropriate response would entail “a post-ironic oscillation between humor [sic] and earnestness” (p. 9). This is an intriguing, and arguably more accurate, depiction of the complex dynamics inherent in absurdism that may well allow us to follow and appreciate Seymour’s (2012) irreverent eco-criticism in a simultaneously lighthearted and serious manner as related above.

In a manner similar to Blackfoot scholar Leroy Little Bear’s (2000) discussion of the inherent diversity, but also commonalities of traditional Indigenous beliefs in North America, Yoliswa Mlungwana (2020) cautiously proposed a generalized response to Western absurdism, and Camus’ work in particular, through the lens of African traditional religions (ATR). Mlungwana suggested that ATRs are incompatible with absurdism due to their common belief in a central God figure, the continued spiritual existence of human beings after death, and, in a manner similar to Indigenous cultures in North America (Cajete, 1994), the interconnection of all things. Mlungwana concluded by arguing that, whether or not the beliefs of ATRs or any other spiritual or religious traditions can be empirically proven, adherents to those beliefs may still experience a stronger and more optimistic sense of purpose in life than that provided by absurdism.

Further comparative considerations of this nature—such as the manifestations and pedagogical functions of, and existential beliefs underpinning humour and Trickster figures in Indigenous cultures in North America (e.g. Cole, 2012; Graveline, 1998; Leddy, 2018)—by researchers, educators, and learners alike may prove insightful.

Other opportunities for environmental education and inquiry in this realm are also evident.

Opportunities for environmental education & inquiry

Given the dynamics and insights presented above, there are numerous opportunities for environmental education pedagogy and inquiry to engage with absurdity in areas such as relationships between human and non-human animals; sociopolitical tensions and dynamics; environmental activism; critical considerations related to gender and sexuality; performance and creative praxis; and self-care amidst challenging times and contexts.

Sociopolitical dynamics & activism

Sociopolitical critique is a central element of absurdism. As introduced above with regard to the current Alberta government’s bizarre and unconscionable environmentally-related actions, an absurdist perspective may serve well to both identify and critically describe the inherent absurdity of a given situation. Absurdist commentary and creative interventions may also provide a humourous pressure release in such contexts. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the aforementioned activist collectives the Raging Grannies, Yes Men, and Beautiful Trouble.

Revealing and articulating the absurdity of a given sociopolitical dynamic or action while providing potential opportunities for social and environmental activism is arguably one of absurdity’s greatest contemporary strengths. Awareness of absurdist perspectives and approaches may also provide opportunities and ideas for those who are not comfortable with more conventional activism.

Human & non-human relationships

Absurdity may be employed as entry point for considering human and non-human relationships (Lloro-Bidart, 2017; Russell & Spannring, 2019). For example, as presented above, themes of transformation through zoomorphism and anthropomorphism are common in absurdist literature and theatre. Such texts could be used to introduce these concepts and invite critical discussion and inquiry from a variety of cultural and philosophical perspectives (See, for example, Timmerman & Ostertag, 2011).

Considerations of zoomorphism and anthropomorphism might also lead to engagement with scholarship related to human relationships with machines and other forms of technology as manifested in the works of theorists such as Donna Haraway (2013). Such discussions may also prompt reflection upon our relationships with food derived from plants and non-human animals, potentially revealing inherent complexities, contradictions, and cognitive dissonances (Lloro-Bidart & Sidwell, 2020; Rice, 2017; Stapleton, 2015).

Critical gender & sexuality

Expanding upon other transformative themes, texts such as Woolf’s (1928/1956) Orlando may also prove useful for facilitating engagement with critical perspectives on gender and sexuality in environmental contexts. Considering such a source alongside leading scholarship in this area of environmental education may lead to important insights, discussions, and future inquiries related to prioritizing critical gender lenses (Gough et al., 2017), queer ecopedagogies (Russell, 2021), intersectionality (Ho, 2020; Maina-Okori et al., 2018), and links between colonial paradigms of resource extraction and violence towards women (Awasis, 2014; Lucchesi, 2019; Weber et al., 2014).

Performance & creative praxis

As noted by other scholars more generally in relation to comedy and humour (Boykoff & Osnes, 2019; Chandler et al., 2020; Osnes et al., 2019; Skurka et al., 2019), absurdity may also serve as a bridge for introducing creative practices into environmental education contexts. Whether through introducing theatrical texts or literature, creating new productions of our own, or engaging in other creative artistic practices, an absurdist perspective may alleviate the trepidation of learners, educators, and researchers alike for embarking on such endeavours.

Existential self-care

As described above, in addition to their sociopolitical preoccupations, absurdist works are often concerned with profoundly existentialist questions. Moreover, absurdist works can also serve as temporary comic relief for those of us who find ourselves overwhelmed, exhausted, or weighed down by our sociocritical and/or environmentally related endeavours (Russell & Oakley, 2016). Finding moments of reprieve, humour, and renewed resolve during those moments of descending Sysyphus’ metaphorical mountain may assist us in continuing on with our work in a hopeful spirit. I know that to be the case for me.

Conclusion

I began this paper by situating myself in the geopolitical context of Alberta, Canada, a controversial extraction, economic, and intellectual centre for oil and gas production. I presented examples of absurdity related to the current provincial government such as publicly funded “war room” staffers presenting themselves as journalists while conducting interviews for their pro-Alberta oil and gas website. I also expressed the continued angst that such a context creates for environmental academics and educators in Alberta.

Having personally experienced the, albeit fleeting, solace that an absurdist perspective can provide amidst such dynamics, I then discussed absurdism in literature and theatre with a particular focus on the existential, sociopolitical, and environmental themes inherent in absurdist works. I also presented examples of absurdist environmental activism. These insights led to critical consideration of absurdism from cultural and philosophical perspectives within and beyond the Western world—an area that would benefit from further inquiry in environmental circles. Next, I proposed several possible opportunities that arise from introducing an absurdist perspective in environmental education research and practice in areas such as relationships between human and non-human animals; exploring sociopolitical tensions and dynamics; environmental activism; critical considerations related to gender and sexuality; performance and creative praxis; and self-care amidst challenging times and contexts.

In closing, my hope is that this paper provides insight into the absurdist tradition in environmental contexts as well as productive points of intrigue, insight, and contention as we individually and collectively navigate our own “good hell.”

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on Contributor

Greg Lowan-Trudeau is Associate Professor in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant # 435-2019-0238.