1st Edition

The Emotions and Cultural Analysis

Edited By Ana Marta González Copyright 2012
    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    Amidst prevailing debates that construe rationality and emotionality as polar opposites, this book explores the manner in which emotions shape not only prevailing conceptions of rationality, but also culture in general terms, making room for us to speak of an 'emotional culture' specific to late-modern societies. Presenting case studies involving cultural artefacts, narratives found in fictional and non-fictional literature and television programs, speech patterns and self-talk, fashion, and social networking practices, The Emotions and Cultural Analysis sheds light on the relationship between emotion and culture and the ways in which emotion can be harnessed for the purposes of cultural analysis. An interdisciplinary volume containing the latest research from sociology, philosophy, literary studies, linguistics, and communication, this book will be of interest to those working on the sociology and philosophy of emotion, cultural studies, and cultural theory.

    Contents: Preface; Introduction: emotional culture and the role of emotions in cultural analysis, Ana Marta González; Part I Emotions, Culture and the Self: Emotions and culture, Robert C. Roberts; Emotions as commentaries on cultural norms, Joseph E. Davis; From the psychlogization of experience to the priority of emotions in social life, Lourdes Flamarique; Evolution of the concept of emotion in medicine: a music therapy approach, Pilar León-Sanz. Part II Fictions, Emotions, and Social Life: The epistemology of difference: narrative emotions in personal stories of disability, Rosalía Baena; Fractured identity: In Treatment as a symptom and reflection of contemporary emotional culture, Alejandro N. García Martínez and Alberto García Martínez; Fashion, fantasy and anxiety, Efrat Tseëlon; Emotions and vocatives in Spanish teenage talk: emotions expressed through the vocative discourse marker tío/a in Madrid teenage talk, Annette Myre Jørgensen; Indexes.

    Biography

    Ana Marta González is Professor of Ethics and Director of the Emotional Culture and Identity Project at the Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra, Spain. She is co-editor of Identities Through Fashion, and Gender Identities in a Globalized World, and editor of Contemporary Perspectives on Natural Law.

    ’Emotions are a daily puzzle for many of us, and a research goldmine for the cultural analyst. This timely collection appeals to the growing numbers of scholars in the social sciences and humanities who are getting interested in emotions and how to study them empirically. It also offers a theoretically nuanced palette of perspectives on the role of emotions in everyday life.’ Roberta Sassatelli, University of Milan, Italy ’The emotional turn is now a fait accompli, in various disciplines as sociology, psychology, philosophy and history. Yet, rarely do these disciplines speak to each other about emotions. This is exactly what this book manages to do by examining such crucial issues as the relationship of emotions to culture, the psychologization of human relations, the role of reflexivity in emotional life, and emotions as expressions of and reactions to cultural norms. This is a lively and timely exchange which significantly furthers our understanding of the intricate relationship between culture and emotions.’ Eva Illouz, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and author of Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation