Cancer as a disease of civilization in the sociological concepts of suffering, emotion and affect

The authors undertake a thorough analysis of the sociological concepts of suffering, emotion, and affect in the context of cancer as a disease of civilization. To that end, firstly, they explore the social logic of care and the gift in order to embark on the n. of the social relation between a designation of cancer as a disease of civilization and the development of modern societies. The authors examine the place and perception of cancer-affected persons and groups in societies of today. Subsequently, they analyze the sociological concepts of suffering, emotion, and affect while exploring a wide range of n.s related, among others, to the sociology of health, including in reference to particular situations of persons affected by cancer. In addition, the authors examine the significance of informal caregivers and the popularity of end-life care institutions for cancer patients. The authors also analyze emotions felt by cancer-affected persons as well as the role of groups and internet forums which gather cancer-affected persons, their closest friends and families

Feeling Strange. The Role of Emotion in Maintaining and Overcoming Borders and Boundaries

This article argues that a focus on emotion and affect helps to understand the processes of constructing and negotiating borders and boundaries critically. To do so, the article analyses two distinct yet connected cases in Austria: On the one hand, it discusses political discourse after the so-called “refugee crisis” of 2015 and shows, how a “politics of fear” was employed to regain control after a brief moment of relative freedom of movement. The second part of the analysis presents outcomes of an interview-based study with Austrians who engaged in a very intense form of refugee help by entering sponsorships with young male refugees. The analysis shows the role of emotions in legitimate restrictive border practices as well as their potential of creating solidarity across boundaries.

Aural epistemology

This article takes the Qur’an’s discourse on the sense of hearing as part of its greater world of emotion and affect, wherein sense perceptions can be understood as part of its felt landscape. Taking the prevalence of the Qur’an’s recitation in tradition and the Qur’an’s own discourse about orality and revelation as a starting point, the paper examines the understanding of the sense of hearing found within the text. Specifically, in the Qur’an, the sense of hearing is linked to ideas of cognition and comprehension. Understanding of the discursive content or meaning of a message is obtained through hearing.

Play, protest and pride: Un/happy queers of Proud to Play in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand

This article extends discussion of urban activism through paying attention to the emotional and embodied politics of a sports event. We draw on research of the ‘Proud to Play Games’, an inaugural regional multi-sports event held during the Auckland Pride Festival in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2016. Feminist and queer theories of emotion and affect – particularly the promise of happiness – produce nuanced understandings of urban gay pride events. We focus on the experiences of three Proud to Play participants as they illustrate the tensions of play/protest, happy/sad and pride/shame in Auckland. The portraits highlight: a homonormativity pursuit of happiness and youthful masculine athleticism; precarious happiness and oppositional lesbian desire; and, the pursuit of indigenous happiness. Through attention to affective and emotional politics, we demonstrate that Proud to Play can challenge heteronormative urban space by simultaneously fighting for a better future and making a claim for the right to be unhappy.

Dealing with Feeling: Emotion, Affect, and the Qualitative Research Encounter

Emotion and affect are different, yet intricately interwoven. Emotions such as fear, joy, or sadness are biological in as far as they are physically felt, but they are relational in as far as they are more fully experienced. Affect arises out of the relational quality of emotion—it consists of the myriad ways in which emotions are embodied, expressed, and enacted. Emotion and affect are influenced by their physical and symbolic contexts. In terms of physical context, data for this article were collected from two different research studies and several sites in the Free State Province of South Africa. Two forms of data were collected: verbal data and images/artworks. In terms of symbolic context, these verbal and visual forms of language and their functioning were explored to generate insights on the social construction of emotion and affect. Margaret Wetherell’s work provides a theoretical basis for analyzing emotion and affect. Rather than conceptualizing emotion in terms of obscure or esoteric formulations, her “practice-based” approach grounds the study of emotion by examining its manifestation in actions. When taken together, action and practice imply pattern and order, form and function, process and consequence. Both projects featured in this paper are sensitive studies that stir emotion. This is fertile ground for exploring emotion and affect in participants’ narratives. It is also fertile ground for exploring how emotion and affect may influence the qualitative researcher and the research process itself. Accordingly, this paper offers an additional layer of analysis on the functioning of intersubjectivity, power, emotion, and affect in the research encounter. Concluding insights endorse the practice of mindfulness as a fruitful approach to manage researcher subjectivity in the qualitative research encounter.