You are warmly invited to a seminar with Åsa Wettergren, University of Gothenburg.
Abstract
Why is the inquiry into emotions of interest to sociology? What can be learnt about the postapocalyptic climate movement, and the making of the future, if we analyse the emotions involved in their narration of past, present, and future? This presentation will address the first of these question by outlining a framework for the sociological understanding of emotions. The sociology of emotions builds on both classical works and on an upsurge of theoretical and empirical contributions in the past three decades. The sociological perspective is characterized by seeing emotions as socio-culturally contingent, entwined with cognition, and conducive for rational action. There is a distinct sociological framework for the analysis of emotions (e.g. Hochschild, Collins) at the micro-interactional level, but the sociology of emotions also enables the expansion of the analysis to a collective, macro- and structural perspective where emotions connect in multiple ways to power, status, inequality (e.g. Barbalet, Kemper). Structurally embedded collective emotions are resources for political power. Collective emotions inform ideologies, convictions, and beliefs, thereby shaping societies. They are powerful drivers of both social reproduction and social change, as is already well known to scholars of emotions and social movements (e.g. Flam, Jasper, Summers-Effler). The second question, what we can learn about the postapocalyptic climate movement, if we analyse the emotions involved, will be discussed in view of this perspective of collective emotions. This part will draw from analyses of hope and related emotions in the post-apocalyptic climate movement conducted in an ongoing project at the University of Gothenburg.
Join Zoom Meeting
The event is hybrid (room for learning and zoom). The seminar will be held in English. Employees at the department will get the link by e-mail. If you want to participate and are not employed - send an e-mail to samuel.merrill@umu.se