Politics of e_motions

Inspired by Sara Ahmed's (2004) discussions in “The Cultural Politics of Emotion” I am interested in e_motional behaviour patterns shared by a whole group of bodies lets say by a society. With movement in dance, physical theatre, voice and a pinch of satire I am researching the interlink between structural emotions, physical movements and how they travel between my own body and a societal body. How does “society” reveal itself on my body surface? How does the journey between their appearance_disappearance sound, look and feel like? And: where is my agency within the flow of my e_motions?
Method: I will conduct my research mainly movement based informed by biographic experiences, societal observations and medial images and videos. By interoception I observe the evoked emotions and movements which are confronted with questions like: How does the upcoming emotional cycle move my body? Vice versa: which impacts do different qualities of my movements have on these emotions? How is a distinction between them to be actually made? How can movement support me in dealing with and choosing the more relevant emotions?

What is behind my research interest?
This research shall have influence on my ongoing dance and performance practice interested into the cycle process of political emotions and its effect on the individual or societal body. While working with my own body and "tracing society in my body" I seek to gain un_learnings which I want to share, depending on the group of people and their life experiences I am working with.
E_motional behaviour patterns in my perspective are linked to lifestyles: how a society is re-producing itself and thus influencing the way people/institutions are behaving to each other. I am especially interested in the central european, 'white' surpremacist, partriarchal capitalist lifestyle I grew up in and the associated structural emotion fear of loss which should also be analysed as fear of loosing power: due to the manifold and interlinked crisis a systematic change in resource use internationally is needed. Along abdication I am witnessing a cycle of emotions contemporary societies have to deal with. Considering nature's resources are limited abdication is on demand. From global to the local level especially historically exploiting social groups and nations are demanded to actively engage in abdication and compensate for their violence and exploitations. When this happens in a non violent way, and in dialogue, I feel emotions of loosing power and privilege can be prevalent by those who benefit from the unequal power dynamic, within my experience of 'white' austrian privilege I wanna tackle that ugly thing. In the concept of intersectionality Kimberlé Crenshaw described how holding privileges and power can shift with space, time and the people I relate with. So I think the fear of loosing power and privilege is more or less a thing any person could be interested in to work with*, for example like: how can I nourish my relationship with fear of loosing (power), with fear of missing out …. by using my dance, movement and voice?
* by acknowledging that especially 'white privileged', abled, class privileged and cis-hetero are social categories which hold systemic power.

Credit for picture: Eray Ramazan Eraslan