Legislating emotions: Discursive analysis of legislative proposals on emotional education in Chile and Uruguay

Abstract

Recently, several Latin American countries have witnessed the proliferation of legislative proposals on emotional education, part of an "emotional boom" that has contributed to the entry of new actors into the educational policy arena and the development of a global-local agenda. This article discursively analyzes the cases of Chile and Uruguay. Using a mixed sequential explanatory design (QUAN→QUAL), two textual corpora are examined, including legislative proposals, parliamentary arguments, and media interviews. Initially, a quantitative analysis of the relevant vocabulary in these proposals is conducted; then, a qualitative analysis explores how, within the context of the studied argumentative settings, circumstances, means, and goals are constructed. Through the analysis of common and differentiating elements, a trend emerges where emo-entrepreneurs aim to legislatively produce and distribute norms and standards on individuals conceptualized as "lacking" in their emotional expressions. This novel aspect of contemporary emotionalization processes is linked, in both contexts, to neoliberal-neoconservative agendas. These findings are discussed in terms of the historical need to construct educational policies and practices for the common good, transcending fantasies of control and regulation of our capacity to affect and be affected.