The Politics of Attachment: Toward a Critical Theory of Affect
Open Access
Author:
Yokum, Nicole
Graduate Program:
Philosophy
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
June 29, 2021
Committee Members:
Amy Allen, Chair & Dissertation Advisor Sarah Miller, Major Field Member Tracy Rutler (she/her/hers), Outside Unit & Field Member Eduardo Mendieta, Major Field Member Leonard Lawlor, Program Head/Chair
Keywords:
Adorno Fanon Marcuse Honneth queer theory Lacan psychoanalysis Freud affect theory critical theory feminist theory critical philosophy of race attachment
Abstract:
My dissertation explores the emotional distortions resulting from conditions of capitalist, racist, sexist, and heterosexist oppression, drawing on resources in early critical theory and contemporary feminist, queer and affect theory. Using attachment styles as a heuristic for interpreting different modes of relating to the socio-political order, I work to reclaim insecure attachment as an ethical and politically productive response to ongoing oppression. Ultimately, I claim that to be securely attached to a pathological social order is the most pathological political choice of all.
