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Feminist Politics of Emotions and Critical Digital Pedagogies: A Call to Action

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2020

Megan Boler
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Extract

Emotions, and truths, are in crisis. in 2005, halfway through the stunning legacy of the bush-cheney-rumsfeld trifecta, stephen colbert kicked off the debut of The Colbert Report and his parodic critique of mendacious politicians and news outlets like Fox by popularizing the notion of “truthiness.” Welcome to the brave new world where felt truths replace facts! The concept of truthiness spread like wildfire, capturing the global zeitgeist. The public crisis of faith in traditionally trusted sources of authority reflects a profound skepticism experienced by many around the world besides discerning dissidents: all we are certain of is that truths proffered by governments, the media, and corporations are constructions (Boler, “Daily Show”; Boler with Turpin). But when we add to this mix the interests of corporate capitalism and science in designing citizens, can we even trust truthiness, what “I feel… to be true”? Or, as Samantha asks in the film Her, “Am I feeling these feelings? Are they mine? Or are they programmed?”

Type
The Changing Profession
Information
PMLA , Volume 130 , Issue 5: Special Topic: Emotions , October 2015 , pp. 1489 - 1496
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 2015

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