Emotional Subjects: Citizenship, Identity and the Emotional World of Disability in China, with Prof. Sarah Dauncey
"Emotional Subjects: Citizenship, Identity and the Emotional World of Disability in China"
Emotions and their associated feelings are inextricably woven into the very fabric of our daily lives and experiences, so much so they are often argued to be an intrinsic part of what makes us ‘human’. As such, our own emotional conditions, as well as the emotional reactions of others to us, are intimately linked to how societies understand what makes human life ‘valuable’ (or not), and what makes a particular individual or group of people feel like they ‘belong’ (or not). While much is known of how different states, such as China, imagine what an inclusive society might look like (and how they plan to get there in terms of concrete actions), very little is known about what an inclusive society might actually feel like. In this talk, Sarah Dauncey will draw on her understanding of para-citizenship – a new concept built around sociological theories of citizenship and identity – to reveal the highly emotional world of disability-making and disability-living in China. She looks not only at how traditionally accepted or institutionally determined notions of personhood and normalcy, the factors that determine the boundaries of citizenship, are often challenged through encounters and interactions with disability, but also how emotions play a fundamental role in the ways persons with disabilities are included in or excluded from the dominant discourses of what makes an ‘ideal’ citizen in China today.
Professor Dauncey's recent book Disability in China: Citizenship, Identity and Culture was published by Cambridge University Press in 2020 (link).
Find the CSUSB Disability Lecture Series Homepage and learn about past and upcoming events here (link). Series organizers are CSUSB Professors Jessica Luck, Tiffany Jones, Jeremy Murray, and Jess Nerren.