LANGUAGE AND EMOTIONS: DISCOURSES OF POWER, THE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIAL REALITIES, CONTEMPORARY THEORIES AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES
The study of the relationship between discourse and emotion has become increasingly relevant in the language sciences and social sciences, since emotions are not only individual experiences but also social phenomena that are constructed, expressed, and negotiated through language. From this perspective, discourse goes beyond the transmission of information to become a space where meanings are produced, identities are shaped, social relationships are established, and dynamics of power are articulated. Consequently, emotions are part of the discursive processes through which people interpret reality and interact in different social contexts.
From the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis, Norman Fairclough (1992) argues that discourse is a social practice closely linked to ideologies and power relations. Within this framework, emotions function as discursive resources that help legitimize or challenge practices, values, and institutions. Teun A. van Dijk (2008), for his part, highlights the relationship between discourse, cognition, and society, noting that emotions influence the construction of mental models, the interpretation of events, and the formation of shared social representations. Thus, affective components participate in both the production and comprehension of discourse.
From the historical-discourse approach, Ruth Wodak (2009) shows that public discourses mobilize emotions such as fear, solidarity, hope, or indignation to construct collective identities, legitimize political decisions, and influence public opinion. This perspective is complemented by the ideas of Patrick Charaudeau (2011), who argues that the effectiveness of political discourse depends not only on rational argumentation but also on the mobilization of affect through discursive strategies aimed at generating adherence, rejection, or identification.
In the field of linguistics, James R. Martin and Peter R. R. White (2005), within the Systemic Functional Linguistics of M. A. K. Halliday (2014), developed Appraisal Theory, which describes the linguistic resources through which speakers express emotions, make judgments, and construct evaluations. This approach makes it possible to analyze how lexical and grammatical choices contribute to the construction of affective meanings across different discursive genres. In a complementary way, Sara Ahmed (2004) argues that emotions circulate socially through language and discursive practices, shaping bonds, identities, belonging, and processes of inclusion and exclusion.
Taken together, these perspectives agree that emotions are social practices mediated by language and play a fundamental role in the production of meaning, the construction of identities, and dynamics of power. Within this framework, the present symposium proposes a space for interdisciplinary dialogue to analyze the role of emotions in the production, circulation, and interpretation of discourse in social, political, educational, media, and cultural contexts. It also seeks to promote the exchange of theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and empirical studies that contribute to the development of research on the emotional dimension of discourse.
