Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Communication Studies (Communication)

This dissertation is interested in affect, or the aspects of social life that make a difference because of the ways we feel them. The happenings of a group working in public health are interpreted using affect theory to trace how disruptions to typical organizing processes happen. Because of its role in shaping social scenes, understanding affect's operation is a potential route towards change, even in situations that seem to be solidly set in one particular form. Instances of the group reworking understandings of their role in addressing health equity and disparities are presented to highlight affect's operations--a force that can lead to positive, negative, or ambiguous change. Feminism informs this research both theoretically and in its commitments to considering the practical implications of learning from this group. Feminist formations of affect are foregrounded by thinking about how bodies are involved in sensing the world as well as the role of love and support in the collectivities of our organizing efforts. The affective movements of the group are traced by sensing the trajectories of the way things are heading, identifying patterns, and accounting for power's role. Implications for communication and organizing in public health theory and practice are offered, calling for public health to engage affective analysis by developing capacities for self, group, and structural reflection on the sociocultural underpinnings of population health.

Committee: Laura Black (Advisor); Myrna Sheldon (Committee Member); Brittany Peterson (Committee Member); Lynn Harter (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Gender Studies; Health; Organization Theory; Public Health; Systems Science; Womens Studies