The Politics of Affect

Catalog description

This course examines the role that affect plays in politics and, especially, social movements. We will read about various interdisciplinary approaches to affect and public emotions before focusing on particular feelings like love, anger, fear, envy, grief, depression, resentment, hope, melancholia, and optimism. In doing so, we will ask: what does it mean to study, document, and historicize political affects? How can certain moods become resources for political action? Why and when do revolutionary energies increase or deplete? Possible readings include: Raymond Williams, Audre Lorde, Vivian Gornick, Lorraine Hansberry. (GOVT-PT)