Emotions as sites of embodied learning in the classroom Distinguished Teacher Lecture: Professor Naomi Head, University of Glasgow

Emotions have become a recognised element of International Relations curricula, shaping modules and taking up intellectual space within our disciplinary teachings. However, while recognised as an important part of the shifting boundaries of the discipline, there is a deeper question regarding the pedagogical role of emotions. Drawing on reflections from my research and teaching on narratives of war and conflict, I explore connections between reading/learning, emotions, power, politics, and positionality. In doing so, I consider in what ways asking students to engage with their emotions in the classroom may shift learning away from an extractive and consumptive model of education towards a more ethical, relational, and political understanding of global politics.

Naomi Head is Professor of International Relations at the University of Glasgow and her research and teaching focuses on narratives of conflict, the politics of empathy and emotions in war and conflict, and conflict transformation. Her research has engaged with conflict in the Balkans, Israel-Palestine, the Iranian nuclear negotiations, and the coalition wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Naomi has a longstanding interest in mediation, communication, and forms of non-violence and is an Associate Practitioner with the Centre for Good Relations in Scotland.