Mapping our emotions: Cartographies of authority, fear, desire and struggle

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Abstract

This paper puts into practice Marilyn Frye’s proposal of anger as a tool of cartography, mapping anger as a means to learn about the micro-politics of our own lives. Using dialogue as a form of social research, this paper expands Frye’s idea through the analysis of a conversation I had with another woman, a friend of mine, about anger. The analysis shows how ‘anger as cartography’ can go beyond Frye’s original suggestion. It shows how mapping emotions can help us understand not only what others expect of us, but also what we expect of others and what we want for ourselves. Moreover, it shows how mapping anger can locate relationships of authority, but also of struggle, fear and desire. Finally, the paper argues that anger is not the only emotion which can be mapped. In doing so, it hints at the possibility of using emotions, more broadly, as cartography, and the different relationships and dynamics they can allows us to locate.
Original languageEnglish
JournalThe Oxford Feminist E-Press
Publication statusPublished - 2021

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