This course examines how emotions shape and are shaped by political life. From fear and anger to hope and joy, emotions influence how individuals and societies understand justice, power, and identity. The course invites students to explore major theories of emotion and differing understandings of the relationship between passion and reason, considering how emotional life intersects with political judgment and collective action.
Through historical and contemporary perspectives, students analyze how emotions are mobilized to sustain or contest political regimes, inspire social movements, and construct social hierarchies. The course questions both the marginalization and the overstatement of affect’s role in politics, while reflecting on its creative dimensions within the conflicts that animate democratic life.
Spring 2027
When we read autobiographies, diaries or memoirs we expect the writing to be all about the individual writer. This Life Writing as a Dialogue course will use several autobiographical genres (autobiography, memoir, diary and auto fiction), to support students’ understanding of how relational dialogic processes are used in such genres to construct self and group identity.
Spring 2026