Les mondes arabes au prisme des émotions
The Arab Worlds Through the Lens of Emotions
Publicado terça, 24 de junho de 2025
Resumo
Cet appel à contribution invite les spécialistes de différentes disciplines et de différents pays de la région à faire le point sur les recherches en cours, dans un contexte où l’actualité émotionnelle est particulièrement chargée. Il propose d’explorer la manière dont les émotions s’y déploient, circulent et sont régulées ou instrumentalisées, dans une époque où leur expression numérique joue un rôle déterminant dans la compréhension et la représentation des conflits contemporains. Le colloque entend ainsi réunir des chercheur.e.s qui analysent les émotions dans une perspective à la fois théorique et méthodologique, attentive d’une part à leur dimension relationnelle et d’autre part à leurs ancrages matériels, temporels et spatiaux.
Anúncio
CCMO's 10th Annual Conference
October 14–15, 2025
Collège de France (site Ulm)
Argument
The recent upheavals in the Middle East and the Maghreb have generated a profound emotional intensity, both locally and globally, dramatically conveyed and made visible through social media. These digital platforms have become key channels for sharing, in real time, the raw emotions triggered by the major political and social events that have marked the region in recent years: the horror, fear, and suffering experienced in Gaza in response to images of massacres, serving both as powerful testimony and as an act of resistance against the dehumanizing discourse of the Israeli state; the relief, shock, and disbelief surrounding the opening of prisons in Syria, symbolizing both liberation and trauma; the outrage sparked by the expulsion of migrants by security forces into the desert in Tunisia, sometimes disturbingly met with approval by local populations; the shock provoked by the earthquakes of 2023 in Syria, Turkey, and Morocco; and the sense of stupefaction emanating from Lebanon, where images of material destruction caused by the port explosion and, more recently, by Israeli bombings intertwine with poignant messages from the diaspora expressing existential anxiety.
These emotions, however, are also subject to heightened scrutiny, often met with suspicion or criticism. For instance, anti-Zionist Jewish movements have denounced the difficulty of publicly expressing grief after October 7, 2023, without facing the risk of political instrumentalization in support of a war-driven agenda. Similarly, in Europe and North America, the im- perative to moderate expressions of anger and indignation in public discourse has become a pressing concern, under threat of accusations of glorifying terrorism—or, more recently in the United States, even the risk of deportation. Finally, explicitly political emotions such as shamāta—the malicious joy felt at the misfortune of others, notably observed among some Syrians celebrating Hezbollah’s setbacks during the Israeli strikes of September 2024—reveal the complex and ambivalent nature of affect in times of geopolitical crisis, increasingly marked by uncertainty.
Long a central concern in the social sciences, emotions nonetheless struggled to gain re- cognition as a subject of study in their own right. At the turn of the 21st century, however, a shift began to take place. Starting from the premise that sociology, anthropology, and history can only address what is expressed, a growing number of scholars have focused on the registers, modes of expression, and conditions of enunciation of emotions, rather than on a supposed inner feeling that remains inaccessible to retrospective observation. In parallel, several studies have demonstrated that affective experience—as well as its forms of expression—is socially constructed. Far from being a purely internal phenomenon or a “raw and universal material” outside the realm of the social (Fer, 2014), emotion connects us to others and to our environment, both of which shape it as much as our personal history does. Conceived either as an “experience” (Quéré, 2012) or as a “transformative force” (Petit, 2021), emotions are fully embedded in the fabric of social life: they act upon individuals while also serving as vectors for action on the collective—whether in terms of norms, institutions, habits, or rules.
The ways in which emotions are approached vary according to disciplinary perspectives. Anthropology has demonstrated how emotional universality is shaped by cultural contexts. History, drawing on archives, correspondence, and heritage objects, has illuminated the social, political, and historical significance of emotions. In sociology—particularly within the sociology of work—emotions have been examined through the lens of their commodi- fication and their role in shaping social relations. By revealing the existence of emotional labor (Hochschild, 1983), feminist studies have played a central role in highlighting the im- portance of affect within the economies of care, domestic labor, and sex work, in connec- tion with social and gender divisions. In the political sphere, scholarship has focused on the affective and emotional dimensions of collective action and activism. From a regional perspective, it is worth noting that the Arab worlds have been conceptualized as a genuine «zone of theory» (Lutz and Abu-Lughod, 1990; Crapanzano, 1994), giving rise to innovative research on emotions and their social regulation—particularly in the wake of the 2010–2011 uprisings. It is this body of work that we wish to revisit in this symposium, in order to better understand the current state of scholarship and the renewal of theoretical approaches in this field.
Within the production of the social sciences, a growing number of scholars are now enga- ging in reflexive inquiry into the entanglement between their research practices and emotional labor. A longstanding concern in anthropology, the subjectivity inherent in scientific practice is increasingly acknowledged as an integral part of knowledge production. Yet when the field itself is sensitive—if not «mined» or actively obstructed—the emotional di- mension of the researcher may give rise to controversy and debate, which media outlets can amplify, mitigate, distort, or render invisible. The positions taken by scholars following the events of October 7, 2023, stand as perhaps the most striking illustration of this dynamic.
This call for papers invites scholars from various disciplines and countries across the region to take stock of ongoing research, at a time when emotional currents are particularly in- tense. It seeks to explore how emotions unfold, circulate, and are regulated or instrumenta- lized, in an era where their digital expression plays a decisive role in shaping the understanding and representation of contemporary conflicts. The symposium aims to bring together researchers who analyze emotions from both theoretical and methodological perspectives, with particular attention to their relational dimension—taking into account the flows and confrontations between individuals, collectives, and institutions—as well as to their material, temporal, and spatial embeddedness. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, the symposium seeks to examine how emotions are increasingly becoming integral to contemporary research. It will center around three key social domains—intimacy, politics, and the digital—not as isolated spheres, but as interconnected and in dialogue with one another.
Research axes
1. Emotions: Beyond the Intimate
Often associated with the intimate sphere, emotions have led many scholars to examine the link between instinct and affect through studies on gender and kinship relations, modes of subjectivation, and—perhaps most importantly—the social organization of intimate spaces and their symbolic value. As a spatial category, intimacy offers a framework for examining the supposedly personal nature of emotions and their expression. Foundational in this re- gard are the works of Pierre Bourdieu in Algeria (1972), Anne Meneley in Yemen (1996), and Farah Ghannam in Egypt (2002), among others, which have significantly shaped how the humanities and social sciences have conceptualized intimacy and the social dimensions of what is often considered “natural.” Conversely, more recent studies have shown that public space, under certain material conditions, can also become intimate, particularly when it enables forms of exclusivity or “in-group” interaction. From the perspective of spatial dy- namics more broadly, research on migration has illustrated how private spaces can serve as emotional refuges for people in exile (Chossière, Odasso, Santana de Andrade, 2024), while also becoming new sites of interpersonal tension. The relationship between space and emotion is thus crucial for understanding how emotions unfold, are expressed, and are experienced. It reminds us that emotions are deeply contextual, shaped by the material and moral configurations of the social environment—an environment that is itself shaped by the specificities of Maghrebi and Middle Eastern societies.
The study of the relationship between affect and intimacy is not limited to a socio-spatial analysis. Indeed, the enduring influence of Michel Foucault’s work on the political gover- nance of intimacy and the body remains a pertinent framework for understanding the arti- culation between emotional expression and affective experience in Arab societies. Drawing on a substantial body of feminist scholarship, recent studies have revisited the notions of shame and honor—two moral values long associated with Mediterranean societies—in order to reconceptualize them as emotions (Armanet, 2011). Other scholars have sought to analyze gender dynamics in emotional expression, paying particular attention to the “connective” logic through which these emotions are established, especially within sibling relationships and extended family networks (Joseph, 1997). Conjugality has also long ser- ved as a key framework for analyzing emotions. Focusing on the impact of capitalism on the intimate sphere, research has shown that intimate emotions themselves are increasingly subject to “contractualization,” revealing a blurring of the boundaries between private and public spheres in the management of emotional life. This interpenetration of spheres gives rise to new sentimental regimes which, in the case of mixed marriages—prohibited in Lebanon or in the Gulf States—highlight figures such as the “courageous citizen” (De Giacomet- ti, 2021), who defy institutional restrictions through their romantic attachments.
In dialogue with these earlier studies and in connection with current events in the region, this axis aims to explore how the emotional experience of intimacy is materially shaped by extreme conditions such as war, natural disasters, social conflict, or migration. More broadly, it invites reflection on how the affective weight of fundamental human experiences—such as illness, death, and the loss of loved ones—is altered in such contexts. A central focus will thus be placed on the material dimensions of emotions and their role in shaping inter- personal relationships.
2. Political Emotions in a Conflict-Affected Region
Research on political emotions experienced a remarkable surge at the turn of the 21st cen- tury. Both in Anglo-Saxon debates and Francophone literature, books and journal special issues have proliferated to analyze what some have termed the “emotional turn” (Clough and Halley, 2007; Plamper, 2009) and others the “new emotional movements” (Walgrave and Verhulst, 2006). Drawing on the notion of activist careers, Isabelle Sommier, for example, proposed analyzing militants’ “affective careers” longitudinally (2020), while Chris- tophe Traïni developed the concept of the “sensitization device” (2009), which refers to “the set of material supports, arrangements of objects, and staging that the actors under study deploy in order to elicit affective reactions predisposing those who experience them to support the cause defended” (p. 13). The “comparative ethnography of emotions” thus now appears as a heuristic entry point for studying political processes (Traïni and Dechezelles, 2018), political participation (Blondiaux and Traïni, 2018), and (post-)conflict configurations (Larzillière and Grajales, 2021).
In the Maghreb and the Middle East, social science researchers have long privileged ana- lyses based on “primordial ties” (Picard, 2006)—namely sect and religion, ethnicity, tribe, or family—assuming these constitute the main pillars of political mobilization and activism. However, this approach tends to overlook the political emotions and ideologies that shape individuals’ meanings and worldviews. The centrality of political emotions and “moral sentiments” (Larzillière and Grajales, 2021) was starkly revealed by the revolutionary processes of 2010-2011 and more recently by the genocide in Gaza. Within protest spaces and groups, activists have drawn upon registers of anger, dignity, and social justice to mobilize their fellow citizens against authoritarian regimes, with years of engagement and collec- tive action fostering “affective encounters” and the creation of future “affective reservoirs” (Allam et al., 2022). On the institutional side, political regimes contribute to routinizing and ritualizing expressions of patriotism as a means of legitimizing and reinforcing their power.
In light of this, Wendy Pearlman highlighted the importance of the affective dimension in the micro-foundations of the Arab uprisings (2013). The “emotional legacies” of revolutionary engagement—understood as the emotional residue that emerges from memories of the past, including regret, pride, resentment, nostalgia, and fatigue (Nussio, 2012)—have also been studied (Hassabo and Ruiz de Elvira, 2025), notably through the lens of what Nermin Allam (2018) defines as the “politics of disappointment.”
Building on these research avenues, contributions within this axis may offer reflections on the various modalities of articulation between emotions and politics—such as “sensitization devices,” registers and framings of collective action, “emotional legacies” of engagement, and so forth—in the Arab worlds, addressing both institutional actors and protest move- ments. Proposals paying particular attention to the affective dimension of recent or ongoing political and social conflicts in the region will be especially welcome. Communications addressing issues of death, mourning, and martyrdom in politics, as well as feelings of (in) justice, dignity (or disgrace), defeat, or nostalgia, may be prioritized.
3. Affects and Digital Technology: Transformations in the Emotional Experience?
Digital platforms both shape our emotions and depend on them by exploiting these dynamics for commercial purposes, thereby becoming central spaces for emotional expression. This om- nipresence of affects, now linked to value, constitutes a key lever in the transformation of capitalism (Alloing and Pierre, 2017), since emotional expression is not only strongly encouraged but also measured and monetized by this new digital economy.
The Maghreb and the Middle East have not been left behind in this expansion of the visibility of emotions. Within these cultural, anthropological, economic, and political contexts, how do the mutations of digital capitalism, founded on affect-value, manifest themselves? How do digital uses, and the emotions that frame them, contribute to maintaining, redefining, or eroding certain social relationships—familial, romantic, professional? Regarding values, recent studies show how the Internet, initially seen as a technology of protest or even a democratic promise (Mahroug, 2024), is in reality more of a space conducive to the expression of conservatism— whether militant or not—that radiates over possibilities for democratic and egalitarian emancipation (Schradie, 2019). The diverse conservative ideologies originating from various platforms (political parties, religious authorities, intellectuals, individuals, etc.) generate reflections that counter and surpass the values of equality traditionally transmitted by civil societies in the region. This is notably the case for patriarchal ideologies in general and masculinist ideologies in particular, which find renewed expressive vigor through social media (Cheikh, 2024). Within this framework, the instrumentalization of emotions helps legitimize anti-gender discourses, often perceived as the domain of religious spheres. It also contributes to legitimizing and normalizing denunciation through the use of hashtags, which serve to signal and condemn allegedly offensive remarks, thereby participating in redefining what is considered shocking. Self-exposure can thus become socially or even politically detrimental when digital practices are criminalized (Breteau, 2024). Moderation systems on platforms sometimes become complicit in forms of criminalization that may arise, or conversely, allies when they seek to counteract moral poli- cing—such as certain homosexual dating apps that have developed safe spaces to limit police repression in countries like Lebanon or Egypt.
Conflicts, wars, and massacres have also placed emotions at the heart of information practices, reshaping journalism and its balance between immersion and empathy (Ferjoux and Ropert Dupond, 2020). In increasingly polarized contexts, notably since October 7, 2023, how do emotions fuel practices of resistance—such as the meticulous work of fact-checking—against alternative narratives and falsehoods amplified by powerful algorithms? How do these forms of resistance generate emotional fatigue?
Submissions within this theme will explore the connections between the rise of digital technologies and the increasing visibility of emotions, alongside the processes of their regulation and even disciplinary control. The aim is to reflect on how emotions are simultaneously mobilized, shaped, and governed within digital spaces, and to examine the technical, political, and eco- nomic logics underpinning these dynamics. Particular attention will be given to the reconfiguration of expressions of national belonging through digital platforms: the instrumentalization of historical narratives, diplomatic tensions—especially in the Maghreb—and the exacerbation of “culture wars,” where neighboring states such as Algeria and Morocco engage in a nationalist escalation, with digital platforms becoming prime arenas for dissemination. Proposals may also investigate the emergence of new emotional ideologies, whether rooted in resistance, iden- tity conservatism, or emancipation, often fueled by the transnational circulation of narratives, images, and affects. Finally, the realm of video games—still underexplored in the Arab world— may serve as a fertile ground for reflections on the role and significance of emotions.
Participation Guidelines
Abstract submissions (500 words, in French or English) should be sent by email to the organizers at colloqueccmo@gmail.com
by June 30, 2025.
Submissions must specify the materials utilized (archives, interviews, observations, etc.) as well as the research methodology. Presentations based on rigorous empirical work will be favored. Both comparative and monographic studies are equally welcome. Responses will be communicated by July 15.
Organizing Committee
Marion BRETEAU, François CECCALDI, Mériam CHEIKH, Laura RUIZ DE ELVIRA
Scientific Committee
Dima ALSAJDEYA, Laure ASSAF, Özge BINER, Marion SLITINE, Manon-Nour TANNOUS.
References
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Allam, Nermin, et al. 2022. « Between Two Uprisings: The Study of Protest in the Middle East, 2010–20 ». In The Political Science of the Middle East: Theory and Research Since the Arab Uprisings, dirigé par Marc Lynch et al. New York : Oxford Academic.
Alloing, Yannick, et Julien Pierre. 2017. Le web affectif. Une économie numérique des émotions. Paris : Presses des Mines.
Armanet, Éric. 2011. Le ferment et la grâce. Une ethnographie du sacré chez les Druzes d’Israël. Toulouse : Presses Universitaires du Mirail.
Blondiaux, Loïc, et Christophe Traïni (dir.). 2018. La démocratie des émotions : Dispositifs parti- cipatifs et gouvernabilité des affects. Paris : Presses de Sciences Po.
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Categorias
- Ciências políticas (Categoria principal)
- Sociedade > Ciências políticas > Ciências políticas
- Espaços > Ásia > Médio oriente
- Sociedade > Ciências políticas > Relações internacionais
- Pensamento, comunicação e arte > Representações > Identidades culturais
- Sociedade > Geografia > Espaço, sociedade, território
- Sociedade > História > História social
- Sociedade > Ciências políticas > Guerras, conflitos, violência
Locais
- Collège de France, 3 rue d'Ulm
Paris, França (75005)
Formato do evento
Evento híbrido (online e no local)
Datas
- segunda, 30 de junho de 2025
Ficheiros anexos
Contactos
- Organisation du colloque du CCMO
courriel : colloqueccmo [at] gmail [dot] com
Urls de referência
Fonte da informação
- Dima Alsajdeya
courriel : dima [dot] alsajdeya [at] college-de-france [dot] fr
Licença
Este anúncio é licenciado sob os termos Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
Para citar este anúncio
« Les mondes arabes au prisme des émotions », Chamada de trabalhos, Calenda, Publicado terça, 24 de junho de 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/146pq
