University
of Kent Occasional Distinguished Lecture Series 2006/07
6pm lecture – 8 November 2006
Sara Ahmed
Professor of Race and Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths
College, London
The Promise of Happiness
Abstract: This paper explores how we
are directed towards some objects more that others by
the very promise of happiness. In other words, happiness
is presumed to be 'what follows' proximity to certain
objects, which is what makes these objects circulate
as social goods, acquiring affective value, as necessary
ingredients for a good life. The paper considers how
certain bodies are seen as the origin of good and bad
feeling, as well as 'who' or 'what' are read as converting
bad feelings into good ones. Drawing on a reading of
the film Bend it Like Beckham, the paper explores how
multiculturalism is given positive affective value:
the would-be-citizen who embraces the national game
is rewarded with happiness. The film participates in
a wider discourse that reads public speech about racism
as melancholic, as the refusal to let go of suffering.
The paper explores how this conversion between unhappy
racism and multicultural happiness takes place, and
in so doing, offers a critique of what we could call
'the affirmative turn'.
Supported by the Faculty of Social Sciences, followed
by a drinks reception
Place: Grimond Lecture Theatre 2, University of Kent
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