Manchester’s Niamh Nelson-Owens, an early-career researcher, has found a promising solution. Her research led to transformative contributions about how our daily emotions shape civic and democratic life. Her ethnography, Becoming an Activist, captures the growing prominence of vegan activism in the city. It encourages appreciation for the ways small, emotional experiences create political worlds. This new work goes against the standard narrative around political change. It indicates that everyday emotional responses, more than calamitous crises or Congressional hearings, usually catalyze these conversions.
Nelson-Owens’ research offers an important, detailed retelling of a new and different model for how political change can – and should – happen. By confronting the emotional undertones of activism, she sheds light on how crucial feelings are to political discourse. This perspective is articulated in her article “Towards an affective post-foundational political geography,” published in Progress in Human Geography. The full article is available at DOI 10.1177/03091325251378214.
Emotions as Drivers of Political Engagement
In her recent academic work, the New Haven-based Nelson-Owens dives deep into understanding how those everyday emotions fuel political participation. She states that while society often fixates on significant political events, such as elections or protests, it is essential to recognize the power of ordinary feelings in driving change.
“We often focus on flashpoints or dramatic events in the formal realm of ‘politics,’ but I suggest that change can emerge in more ordinary ways, through how we feel as much as what we say,” Nelson-Owens remarked. Her findings reveal that the passion and rage experienced by people in resistance movements have immense potential. They can be every bit as impactful as conventional political messaging.
Arguing through vegan activism in Manchester, she shows how personal feelings and mutual emotional experiences feed into collective action. This approach provides a new lens through which to view political dynamics, emphasizing that grassroots movements often thrive on emotional connections among participants.
Rethinking Political Change
Nelson-Owens’ research provides a new lens for understanding the gears that turn political change. Conventional wisdom tends to focus on big moments and organized primary fights as the secret sauce that ignites high-stakes political movements. As her research indicates, those common perceptions tend to miss the more nuanced but potent impacts of daily emotions.
She makes a compelling case that outrage from the public can lead to big shifts in political battlegrounds. For many, these responses stem from lived experiences that drive them to take action. This demands scholars and activists to reflect on the emotional undercurrents that animate their movements and inform their strategies.
By foregrounding the complexities of political geography through her research, Nelson-Owens fosters a richer understanding of this discipline through an affective lens. These changes have opened thrilling opportunities for pondering how emotions and movements intersect with electoral politics. It supports us in realizing how these feelings can fuel impactful transformation.
The Importance of Affective Experiences
Nelson-Owens reiterates the importance of affective experiences for grappling with the contemporary political geography. Her research highlights the emotional aspect of activism. It’s the idea that the magical power of feelings can move people and communities to action.
In her thesis, she demonstrates how vegan activists in Manchester forge inclusive communities. They create a collective aim by building affective ties to each other. This sense of community increases engagement and can have further social and political ripple effects.
The ramifications of her findings reach much further than vegan activism. They upend the larger academic conversation about political engagement. By integrating affective experiences into the analysis of political processes, Nelson-Owens paves the way for new methodologies and frameworks that prioritize emotional dimensions alongside traditional political structures.