Samantha Ann Martin

SAMANTHA MARTIN, then a graduate student at University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, was awarded funding in October 2022 to aid research on “The Circulation of Affect and Genre in Chilean Feminist Activism,” supervised by Dr. Jennifer Reynolds. Chilean feminist activists engage in various strategies for effecting change. Their strategies typically have communicative goals: they study gender inequality, share knowledge about it, and invite the public to understand, and feel, the urgency of the problem. Yet their discourses invite divergent forms of emotional uptake: a street art memorial lauding a historical activist, a documentary testimonial recounting a victim’s abuse, an Instagram infographic displaying femicide statistics, or a catchy tune chanted at a march each invites the viewer/reader to take particular emotional stances, such as sadness, empathy, shock, anger, or inspiration. This research project focuses on the linguistic and emotional dimensions of Chilean feminist genres that critique gender violence as they circulate in feminist and public spaces. Investigating the role they play in activist efforts to reshape collective knowledge and feelings about gender violence, as well as the ideologies underlying activists’ performance of these genres and the public’s reaction to and interpretation of them, involves participant observation, ethnographic interviews, and the analysis of a digital archive of feminist texts. Considering the potential disconnect between feminist intent and public uptake, this project may help reveal why some efforts succeed and others fail to eradicate gender violence.