This seminar considers the ways in which language and aesthetics have shaped violence, on the one hand, and protest, on the other hand, across local and translocal contexts in Southeast Asia and its diasporas. In particular, the role of creative productions, images, and videos, as well as specific words and phrases will be examined in terms of how and why they impact perceptions of as well as attitudes and feelings towards critical events and certain sectors of society. We will look too at how language and aesthetics circulate in physical and virtual spaces, travel across local contexts, and acquire particular meanings and affects; how they constitute or challenge collectives; as well as how they build solidarities or create polarization.
The seminar will engage with works in anthropology, sociolinguistics, social movement studies, cultural studies, and media and communication studies.
Format: online, mixed synchronous and asynchronous upon consultation with students.
