ABSTRACT
During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, performances of gratitude to health care professionals and other key workers provided moments of optimistic solidarity. In the United Kingdom, weekly applause was coordinated under an initiative called ‘clap-for-carers’. This chapter offers a case study of the rise and demise of clap-for-carers, exploring its connections with affect theory, political rhetoric, activism and slacktivism. The chapter argues that the movement will have a lasting legacy in the debates it sparked about the role of expressions of gratitude in collective life, particularly in the contexts of affectual authenticity and care justice.
