CAST 215 - Minor Feelings: An Introduction to Affect Studies

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
Feelings matter, but are they political? How and when do feelings meaningfully bridge differences between people? Can tuning in to our emotional lives help us transform the world? This introductory course will approach such questions through the field of affect studies. We will read foundational texts by Raymond Williams, Sianne Ngai, and Lauren Berlant, as well as recent work by Cathy Park Hong, Leticia Alvarado, Rebecca Solnit, and José Esteban Muñoz in order to probe the ever-shifting relationship between emotional states and social states. Focusing in on specific affects–including anger, hope, depression, and pity–we will place emphasis on the way artists, intellectuals, and activists have made connections between affective experience and efforts to resist oppression based on race, gender, sexuality, and class.

This course is appropriate for new students.