Dystopian Emotions : Emotional Landscapes and Dark Futures

As nations reel from the effects of poverty, inequality, climate change and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels as though the world has entered a period characterized by pessimism, cynicism and anxiety. This edited collection challenges individualized understandings of emotion, revealing how they relate to cultural, economic and political realities in difficult times. Combining numerous empirical studies and theoretical developments from around the world, the diverse contributors explore how dystopian visions of the future influence, and are influenced by, the emotions of an anxious and precarious present. This is an original investigation into the changing landscape of emotion in dark and uncertain times.As nations reel from the effects of poverty, inequality, climate change and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, it feels as though the world has entered a period characterized by pessimism, cynicism and anxiety. This edited collection challenges individualized understandings of emotion, revealing how they relate to cultural, economic and political realities in difficult times. Combining numerous empirical studies and theoretical developments from around the world, the diverse contributors explore how dystopian visions of the future influence, and are influenced by, the emotions of an anxious and precarious present. This is an original investigation into the changing landscape of emotion in dark and uncertain times Front Cover Dystopian Emotions: Emotional Landscapes and Dark Futures Copyright information Table of contents Notes on Contributors Acknowledgments Introduction: The Feeling of Dystopia Dystopia in popular culture Utopia and dystopia as non-fiction Dark futures and the sociology of emotion Introduction to the collection Note References 1 Borderland Emotions: A Case Study of Youths in Kinmen, Taiwan Introduction Patriarchal clan culture and gender relations Militarization, tourism and sexism Intersectionality, affect and emotions Methodology note “Only sons are the zi-ji-ren [members of the family]” Gendered sense of belonging: from private to public “I will hide myself”: feelings of loss and abandonment Governed intimacy and affections Conclusion Note References 2 Beyond Wicked Facebook: A Vital Materialism Perspective Introduction Vital materialism theory Details of our study The Facebook privacy assemblage Discussion Conclusion References 3 Detangling Online Dystopias: Emotional Reflexivity and Cyber-Deviance Introduction Three social styles of cyber-deviance Online sneaky thrills, colloquially known as trolling Online harassment and cyber-bullying Antidisestablishmentarianism, the proliferation of propaganda and weaponized trolling (troll armies of a dystopian future) Netiquette and emotional reflexivity Collectivized cyber-deviance, emotional reflexivity-cyber deviance as activism online and combatting cyber-deviance Conclusion Note References 4 Mass Emotional Events: Rethinking Emotional Contagions after COVID-19 Introduction Collective emotions: climates, landscapes and moods Emotional contagions: then and now Mass emotional events Case Study 1: The 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US Case Study 2: ‘Black Summer’ Australian bushfires Conclusion Note References 5 Between the Nationalists and the Fundamentalists, Still We Have Hope! Introduction Emotions and politics Narratives of difference, myths of the state: Sri Lanka The 2019 Easter bombings and their aftermath Creating alternate affective communities Conclusion Notes References 6 ‘The New Economy and the Privilege of Feeling’: Towards a Theory of Emotional Structuration Introduction Emotions in the operation of new economies Emotions as precursor for new economy work Emotions at work in new economies Emotional consequences of new economy work A theory of emotional structuration The interplay between (interpersonal) emotion management (EM/IEM) and emotion regulation (ER) Emotional interactions, capital and structuration New economies, emotional structuration and the privilege of feeling Emotional elites Emotional intermediaries Emotional precariat Conclusion Capacity for agency? Notes References 7 Neo-Villeiny University Introduction The neo-villein The academic neo-villein Organizational neo-villeiny Neo-Villeiny University Conclusion Notes References 8 Resuscitating the Past: Zygmunt Bauman’s Critical Analysis of the Recent Rise of Retrotopia Introduction Social science against utopia The road from utopia to dystopia Liquid modernity and the ‘hunting utopia’ The ‘interregnum’ and the ‘TINA syndrome’ Retrotopia – into the age of nostalgia The politics of retrotopia Conclusion References 9 Hope Out of Stock: Critical and Melancholic Hope in Climate Fiction Emotionally loaded futurity: hope and despair in/action Hope without revelation in climate change fiction Strange routes: critical hope in Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behaviour ‘Stumbling from one disaster to the next’: melancholic hope in James Bradley’s Clade Conclusion Note References Conclusion: A Critical Mass of Emotions – Reflexivity, Loneliness and Hope? Introduction Have we reached a critical mass of emotions? Loneliness pre- and post-COVID-19: from ‘late-modern’ detachment to a digitized ‘new normal’? Looking ahead reflexively: beyond dystopia? References Index Back Cover This edited collection offers an original investigation of into the changing landscape of emotion in dark and uncertain times. Challenging the assumption that emotional experiences are purely personal, the authors showcase how they relate to cultural, economic and political conditions.