Correcting Emotional Deviance: Affective Inclusion Amid Social Inequality and Power Hierarchies

Abstract

This article uses empirical data from a case study in Germany to introduce the concept of “affective inclusion.” Affective inclusion is understood as both an institutional and programmatic response to emotional deviance that arises in the wake of power hierarchies and social inequalities. The aim of these efforts is to incorporate individuals or groups into a dominant emotion culture, especially after their emotions have been labeled as deviant. The empirical study uses a unique combination of qualitative data and methods, including ethnographic observations during an anti-violence program for amateur soccer players and an analysis of a television report on the same workshop. The analysis addresses the social dynamics that determine the processes of affective closure and openness and examines the strategies, practices and techniques that institutional actors employ to address this phenomenon, including teaching emotional control and nudging participants into the prevailing emotion culture. In addition, the study shows how affective inclusion is intertwined with social inequality and discrimination.