1. The Shape of Emotional Recruiting by a Progressive Movement and Its Relationship to the Self.
- Author
-
Williamson, Elizabeth
- Subjects
EMOTIONS ,SOCIAL movements ,SELF - Abstract
In this paper I argue that emotions should be considered as being structured. I show that emotional shifts take different forms over time that can be graphed in two dimensions. Approaching emotions as being structured over time allows theorists to shift between levels of analysis, and expand knowledge about emotions during medium-term time frames such as a week. This structural view can explain emotional changes from the micro to the macro level of analysis. I examine positive and negative emotions during week-long recruiting events held by a progressive movement called Reclaiming. There are three basic goals for the paper: 1) to describe how emotions are structured over the course of a week using data from Reclaiming's week- long Summer Intensive recruiting events, 2) to compare emotion structures between different events using data from six different events in the U.S. and Canada between 2004 and 2007, and 3) to discuss the impact of factors such as the presence a majority of street activists and adults-only versus all-ages groups on emotion structures. I also discuss how my findings compare to other studies of emotion structures present at social and religious movement events and long-term residential settings. The goal of these groups is to get the individual self to completely merge with the collective and to create positive emotions. In contrast to this, Reclaiming focuses on building up the individual self through a process involving intense negative and intense positive emotions that I refer to as an emotional arc of the week. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2008