Short Abstract

This roundtable explores notions of longing as a complex relational force, particularly within contexts marked by violence, trauma and polarization. We ask, how can forms of longing, desire, and speculative thinking regenerate anthropological praxis and political possibilities?

Long Abstract

This roundtable explores notions of longing as a complex relational force, particularly within contexts marked by violence, trauma and polarization. Instead of centring “damage centred” research practices and agendas (Tuck, 2009), it examines how forms of longing, desire, and speculative thinking can regenerate anthropological praxis and political possibilities.

This roundtable positions longing as a generative and future-oriented modality. Longing is generative of alternative possibilities of living that go beyond the hegemonic binary of subjects marked by either ‘happiness’ or ‘victimhood’. It is precisely this affective duality that longing draws its power from. It illuminates those conditions and structures of violence that power seeks to keep hidden. Yet, it simultaneously makes these conditions redundant through articulating a shared desire for the otherwise, offering a glimpse of what the not-there-yet feels like. Longing, however, does not offer a clear blueprint for political practice – rather, it resides in the moments when our desires escape control and refuse to be assimilated in the world-as-it-is.

We are particularly interested in papers that approach longing through decolonial and queer lens, exploring its potential for disrupting dominant structures of power such as cis-hetero-patriarchy, racial capitalism, and colonial practices. Contributors may address questions such as: How does desire persist under conditions of profound suffering without being consumed by it? How is longing imbued with different and at times opposing emotions, such as envy and empathy? What does longing ‘do’ on the field and as part of ‘researching otherwise’? How do we write about longing academically without losing its affective potential?

The roundtable will take the form of a discussion and an experimental workshop where participants are asked to reflect on their own relationship with longing and its many possibilities. We particularly invite contributions that engage with creative or multimodal methods to ‘think and feel’ with longing.

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