The Civil Society Workshop will meet on Wednesday, November 29, at 1 pm for a discussion with

Anna Zhelnina, PhD Candidate, Sociology, CUNY

“Emotions of Inaction: Why Does Some Discontent Remain Quiet?”

Abstract:

The role of emotions in social movements and mobilization has been an important focus in recent research. However, emotional mechanisms of producing apathy and non-participation are understudied. This article explores the thinking and feeling processes involved in the production of apolitical attitudes with particular attention to their social and cultural context. I argue that cultural norms of appropriateness and emotional expression can hinder or boost the emotions involved in the mobilizing processes. I reconstruct how cultural norms of valuation and expression of emotions contribute to the production of political apathy among young Russians. Based on 60 interviews with young people in two Russian cities collected during the period of the anti-regime protests in 2011-12, the paper explores the emotional mechanisms that prevented the informed and critical people from joining or even approving of the protests.

You can access and comment the paper here

CSW group members can download the MS Word file here

We will meet in room 5401 (Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society)