How Negative Emotions Shape Social Ties: A Case-Study from Pakistan

Emotional energy (ee) is one of the most influential concepts in sociology, and used to understand a wide range of phenomenon ranging from the rise of social movements, the formation transient ties within crowds, as well as to illuminate internal motivational dynamics (Collins 2001, 2008). However, there are two critical gaps in the literatures. While we know about emotional energy undergirding interaction rituals involving large crowds, we know less about the role of ee plays in formation of bounded groups or the application of ee to the meso group level. Further, much of the empirical and theoretical work has been about positive ee, the dynamics of negative ee remain under-theorized (Boyns and Luery 2015). In this paper, I present a case study of a community of teachers who work in a primary school in Pakistan to draw out how ee, especially negative forms of ee contributes to small group dynamics. Through this case-study, which presents a rare glimpse into a community of women in Pakistan, I offer theoretical insights into the role of ee in shaping ties and informing the agency of women in a context where social mobility is severely restricted.