Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the meaning of emotions in the making of citizenship through the Polish shipyard strike in Gdansk 1980. At the focus of attention is the creation of emotional energy and how this contributes to the experiences, memories and representations of the strike.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the meaning of emotions in the making of citizenship through public revolts. It analyses a case-study of a much acknowledged citizenship-constructing event: the Polish shipyard strike and the birth of Solidarity in Gdańsk, August 1980, which has been mythologized as the starting point of the fall of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The paper specifically examines the creation of what sociologist Randall Collins calls emotional energy and how this contributes to citizenship-making actions and experiences of the participants of the strike, as well as to representations, memories and anniversary celebrations of the event later on (such as the 30th anniversary celebrations in Gdańsk 2010). By applying Collins' theoretical model of interaction ritual chains, where emotional energy is a crucial concept, this paper contributes to two of the major lines of inquiry proposed by the panel organizers: a) theoretical models in the research of micro-politics of emotions; and c) emotions and cultural/social movements.