The moral-political economy of discomfort: who is allowed to feel uncomfortable in higher education

This conceptual paper interrogates the affective limits of discomfort in higher education by situating it within a broader moral-political economy. While work on ‘pedagogies of discomfort’ in the past has framed unease and disruption as pathways to ethical and transformative learning, this paper argues that not all discomfort is equally recognised or welcomed. Drawing on scholarship on affective governance, backlash politics, and DEI controversies in the United States, the analysis shows how universities selectively authorise certain forms of discomfort – those aligned with reflective growth, civility, and institutional legitimacy – while delegitimising others, such as anger, refusal, or exhaustion that expose structural injustice or institutional complicity. Introducing the concepts of authorised and unauthorised discomfort, the paper argues that discomfort becomes politically significant precisely when it exceeds the affective limits institutions are willing to tolerate. In doing so, the analysis reframes discomfort a site of ongoing struggle over affective legitimacy, authority, and voice.