Generations, Styles, and Emotional Change. The Case of the Chilean Social Outburst. 2019

Abstract

This article seeks to analyse and understand the emotional dimension of the banners, graffiti and slogans deployed in Chile during the Social Outbreak of 2019. In order to do so, I base my study on the debates and categories of the history of emotions, particularly the concept of “emotional style” coined by Peter Stearns and Carol Stearns. The main argument of this work is that the Social Outburst exposed the existence of a different emotional style from the existing one, as a distinctive element between generations. It is possible to perceive this emotional style in at least five elements that form part of its elemental features, which played a crucial role in how politics was conducted during the event.