Call for Chapters

EDITED COLLECTION TITLE: The Politics of Emotions and Values (Revised for Global Submissions)

EDITOR: Cecilea Mun, PhD, is the author of Interdisciplinary Foundations for the Science of Emotion: Unification without Consilience (2021), the editor of Cultural Perspectives on Shame: Unities and Diversities (2024), a contributing editor of “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Shame: Methods, Theories, Norms, Cultures, and Politics” (2019), which was recommended by CHOICE), the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Philosophy of Emotion, and the founding director of the Society for Philosophy of Emotion.

DESCRIPTION OF EDITED COLLECTION: There is no question that politics is fraught with emotions, and one import of this fact for philosophers of emotion is the way in which our political emotions express our values. Our emotions express what it is that we hold dear, not only personally but as a value to be commended to community members. To this extent, political struggles are symptoms of a lack of clear consensus about which values ought to outweigh others, especially when at least two are in conflict, and is often indicative of future progress. For example, the outcries on both sides of the current Israel-Hamas war; the self-righteous convictions of those currently protesting against immigration at the Texas-Mexico border and the fears of those who are seeking asylum from the conditions that they are trying to flee; the triumphant joys of pro-life activist and the angers or fears of pro-choice activists upon hearing the U.S. Supreme Court’s judgment overturning Roe vs. Wade; the sighs of relief felt by many when former President Trump was found liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, perhaps against the fears of many others in the United States; and the distraught helplessness of the residence of “Cancer Alley” (between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, LA) over the self-assured resolve of industrial plant companies to continue to grow their industry in this location. The question, then, is how ought these conflicts of values be analyzed in light of the emotions to which they give rise, how can they be resolved, and in what way can emotions play a role in their resolution? What are the values that are or ought to be conferred, rejected, justified, etc., and how do our emotions play a role in informing us about these values, as well as help us decide on a feasible path forward?

To help answer these and similarly related questions, as well as to help document the current political struggles of our time, I am putting together an edited collection on the politics of emotions and values. I invite scholars from all over the world to submit complete and polished original, unpublished chapters, in English, or relevant previously published chapters. Each chapter should focus on a detailed analysis of a political conflict with respect to a concrete public policy, with well-founded policy information and relevant empirical support, and identify the import of at least one emotion type in the analysis. The overarching aim of each chapter should be to provide an analysis of the import of emotion which would help undergraduate and graduate students, as well as policy makers, think through how the philosophy of emotions can help us understand the complexity of these political policy conflicts, as well as their possible resolutions. The idea is, even if an argued for resolution is "wrong," whatever that means, the argument itself for that solution should help people further clarify their own decision making. Yet, all chapter contributions must provide accurate policy information, employ rigorous empirical research wherever necessary, and contain no false claims. This edited collection also aims to provide a broad perspective on political conflicts of concern, with the implicit assumption that a solution to any of the problems raised in the edited collection will ultimately lie in the mind of the reader, upon their well-informed, deliberated readings of the chapters presented. I welcome voices and perspectives from all sides of an issue, as long as an attitude of respect is maintained for all sides. For previously published works, authors must have the appropriate copyrights and provide the appropriate permission(s) for publication. Please note, however, that only a limited number of chapters may be from previously published work. Please feel free to email me in advance to vet your idea for your chapter before writing it, and I welcome potential authors to coordinate complementing chapters with other potential authors.

FORMATTING & COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: Each chapter should be approximately 8,000 words in length (not including references) and should follow the most recent Chicago Manual of Style author-date style guideline. Please refer to the Cultural Perspectives on Shame: Unities and Diversities (2024) and Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Shame: Methods, Theories, Norms, Cultures, and Politics (2019), for more specific examples of style.

TIMELINE TO PUBLICATION: The following is the expected timeline to publication.

1. Completed chapters will be due August 31, 2024.

2. Requested revisions will be conducted from September 2024-December 2024.

3. A completed proposal, with completed chapters, will be circulated to publishers for publication by January 1, 2025.

4. Contingent upon a publication contract, the expected publication date is sometime in late 2025.

SUBMISSION & CONTACT INSTRUCTIONS: Please submit your completed chapter, along with your CV, to Cecilea Mun (cecileamun[at]icloud[dot]com) by August 31, 2024. Authors will be contacted in September 2024.