ABSTRACT
We introduce Ahmed’s (2010) notions of happy objects and proximity to unhappiness as ways of interrogating the value of happiness. Drawing on these concepts, we examine Silvera’s More Happy than Not. We focus on key scenes to illustrate happy objects, such as family, heterosexual love, others’ happiness, and truth. We invite teachers to guide their students to write about these concepts in relation to their lives and discuss through close readings of the novel. We then challenge teachers and students to consider the importance of being close to unhappiness as a way of working for political consciousness and action, again, in their lives and in the book. We detail an innovative classroom approach in which students create collages of unhappiness, locate themselves in relation to those unhappinesses, and reflect on the social consequences of their locations. We underscore the power of proximity to unhappiness, that is, what students know and can do when they feel freedom to be unhappy. Ultimately, we suggest that teachers and students offer a gallery of their artwork, inviting guests to locate themselves relative to illustrated unhappinesses, and conclude by watching a brief video explaining the power of such locations.
