This course introduces the sociological study of emotions in concrete social situations. Most people think of emotions as a purely internal experience, composed solely of physiological elements. Emotions are also phenomena most people usually think of as ‘natural’. Sociologists are interested in to what extent emotions are socially constructed and/or socially constituting.
There are many texts devoted to the sociology of emotions and its theories and you are strongly encouraged to browse the library catalogues, the library shelves and e-resources for relevant books and journal articles. Remember that researching and reading relevant materials is an essential element of your degree programme.
The following introductory texts are particularly useful. Please note that, beyond these basic texts, a further depth of reading is necessary at a degree level.
Ahmed, S. (2004). The Cultural Politics of Emotion, New York, Routledge.
Barbalet, J. M. (2001). Emotion, Social Theory, and Social Structure. A Macrosociological Approach, Cambridge University Press.
Collins, R. (2004). Interaction Ritual Chains, Princeton and Oxford, Princeton University Press.
Damasio, A. (2008). Descartes' error: Emotion, reason and the human brain. Random House.
Hochschild, A.R. (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Illouz, E. (2007). Cold intimacies: The making of emotional capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Katz, J. (1999) How Emotions Work, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
Kemper, T. D. (1990) (Ed.) Research Agendas in the Sociology of Emotions, State University of New York Press, Albany.
Scheff, T.J. and Retzinger, S.M. (1991). Emotions and Violence: Shame and rage in destructive conflicts. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Turner, J. H., Stets, J. E. (2005). The Sociology of Emotions, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
RECOMMENDED READING (selection)
The following list is indicative only. Students will be directed to further ‘lecture specific’ texts, chapters and articles during the academic year.
Ahmed, S. (2010). The promise of happiness. Duke University Press.
Archer, M. S. (2000). Being human: The problem of agency. Cambridge University Press.
Beck, U., and Beck-Gernsheim, E. (2014). Distant love. Polity.
Burkitt, I. (2014). Emotions and social relations. Sage.
Cacioppo, J. T, Hatfield, E., Rapson, R. L. (1994). Emotional Contagion. Cambridge University Press.
Clark, C. (1990). Emotions and Micropolitics of Everyday Life: Some Patterns and Paradoxes of Place. In: Kemper, T. D. (ed.) Research Agenda in the Sociology of Emotions, Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 305-333.
Damasio, A. R. (2000). The feeling of what happens: Body, emotion and the making of consciousness. Random House.
Denzin, N. K. (1994). On understanding emotion. Transaction Publishers.
Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition & emotion, 6(3-4), 169-200.
Elias, N. (1978). On transformations of aggressiveness. Theory and Society, 5(2), 229-242.
Elias, N. (1982). The civilizing process (Vol. 2). New York: Pantheon Books.
Elias, N. (1987). On human beings and their emotions: a process-sociological essay. Theory, Culture & Society, 4(2), 339-361.
Flam, H., and King, D. (2007). Emotions and social movements. Routledge.
Gergen, K. J. (2009). Emotions as Relationships, in: Gergen, K. J. Realities and relationships: Soundings in social construction. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, pp 201-35.
Goffman, E. (1959/1990). The presentation of self in everyday life. London: Penguin.
Goffman, E (1963) Behaviour in public places: notes on the social organization of gatherings. New York: Free Press of Glencoe.
Goffman, E. (1967) Interaction Ritual, New York, Anchor Books.
Gordon, S. L. Social Structural Effects on Emotion, in: Kemper T.D. (ed.) Research Agenda in the Sociology of Emotions, Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 145-179.
Goodwin, J., & Jasper, J. M. (2006). Emotions and social movements. In Handbook of the Sociology of Emotions (pp. 611-635). Springer US.
Goodwin, J., Jasper, J. M., & Polletta, F. (Eds.). (2009). Passionate politics: Emotions and social movements. University of Chicago Press.
Hammond, M. (1990) Affective Maximization: A New Macro-Theory in the Sociology of Emotions, in: Kemper, T. D. (Ed.) Research Agendas in the Sociology of Emotions, Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 58-81.
Hochschild, A. (1975) The Sociology of Feeling and Emotion: Selected Possibilities. In Marcia Millman and Rosabeth Moss Kanter (Eds.) Another Voice, New York: Anchor Books.
Hochschild, A. (1979) Emotion Work, Feeling Rules, and Social Structure, in The American Journal of Sociology, 85, 3, 551-575.
Hochschild, A. (2003) The commercialization of intimate life: notes from home and work, Berkeley: University of California Press.
James, W. (1884). II.—What is an emotion?. Mind, (34), 188-205.
Jasper, J. M. (2011). Emotions and social movements: Twenty years of theory and research. Annual Review of Sociology, 37, 285-303.
Lorde, A. (1981) 'The uses of anger', Women's Studies Quarterly 25(1/2): 278-85.
Lemmings, D., & Brooks, A. (2014). Emotions and Social Change: Historical and Sociological Perspectives. Routledge.
Massumi, B. (2015). Politics of affect. Cambridge, UK Malden, MA: Polity.
Merleau-Ponty, M. (1945/2012). Phenomenology of perception. London: Routledge.
Scheff, T. J. (1990) Microsociology discourse, emotion, and social structure. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Scheff, T. J. (1997) Emotions, the Social Bond and Human Reality. Part/whole analysis, Cambridge: University Press.
Scheff, T. J. (2003) Shame and Self in society. Symbolic Interaction, 26, 239-262.
Scheff, T. J. (2011). What's Love Got to Do with It?: Emotions and Relationships in Popular Songs. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publisher.
Sennett, R. (2011). The corrosion of character: The personal consequences of work in the new capitalism. WW Norton & Company.
Shields, Stephanie A. (2002) Speaking from the Heart: Gender and the Social Meaning of Emotion, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Skeggs, B. (2009) 'The moral economy of person production: the class relations of self-performance on 'reality' television' in: Sociological Review, 57(4): 626-644.
Slaby, J. and von Scheve, C. (2019). Affective societies: key concepts. London, New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Smith-Lovin, L. (1993) Can Emotionality and Rationality Be Reconciled? Rationality and Society, 5, 2, 283-293.
Stets, J. E. and Turner, J. H. (2014). Handbook of the sociology of emotions, Vol. II. New York, NY, Springer Science.
Summers-Effler, E. (2002) The Micro-Potential for Social Change: Emotion, Consciousness, and Social Movement Formation. Sociological Theory, 20, 41-60.
Sunderland, N., Catalano, T. and Kendall, E. (2009) 'Missing dicourses: concepts of joy and happinesss in disability' Disability & Society 24(6): 703-14.
Turner, J. H. (2000) On the Origins of Human Emotions. A Sociological Inquiry into the Evolution of Human Affect, Stanford, Stanford University Press.
Turner, J. H. (2002) Face to Face. Toward a Sociological Theory of Interpersonal Behavior, Stanford, Stanford University Press
Turner, J. H. (2004) (ed.) Theory and research on human emotions, Publisher: Amsterdam; Boston: Elsevier/JAI.
Von Scheve, C., Luede, R. (2005) Emotion and Social Structures: Towards an Interdisciplinary Approach. Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior, 35, 3, 303-328.
Warner, M. (1999) The Trouble with Normal: Sex, Politics and the Ethics of Queer Life. Harvard University Press.
Wiley, N. (1994) The Semiotic Self, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Zelizer, V. A. (2005) The Purchase of Intimacy. Princeton University Press.
Learning Objectives
This module will enable us to explore how the sociology of emotions can challenge some of sociology’s key premises and ways of thinking and to critically analyse debates about the changing role of emotions in social life. The topic examines how modernity has made people feel about each other and their world and how those feelings have in turn shaped that world.
The general aim of this module is to develop a solid understanding of the relevance of emotions to analyse and interpret contemporary times and events. The emphasis throughout will be on how emotions explain social phenomena and simultaneously provide critical and analytical tools to challenge dominant or conventional interpretations of them.
By the end of this module the students should be able to:
1. Understand the critical function of emotions a key category of explanation and their role in changing the way we perceive social problems and political issues.
2. Develop an in-depth, interdisciplinary understanding of the relevance of emotions as a complex, dynamic phenomenon that includes Self, Body and Mind, but which always occurs in relation to others.
3. Apply such understanding to the analysis and interpretation of social structures, changes and events in contemporary societies.
4. Critically evaluate a variety of accounts of emotions whilst developing their own perspective.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of the English language is desirable. The final essay, upon request, can be written in Italian.
Teaching Methods
This is a Sociology module that meets weekly for two-hour interactive sessions. A range of teaching methods will be employed, including lectures and interactive lectures, small group and whole class discussions, watching and discussing video clips and other audio-visual material. Primary method of teaching and learning is through interactive sessions. Formative assessment is embedded within group tasks, question and answer sessions, written coursework, oral presentation and group discussion. Individual tutorial sessions prior to essay submission, oral presentation and exam revision will incorporate a formative assessment element.
Further information
Students registered for the module are expected to:
o attend the weekly class regularly and punctually;
o make an active contribution to group discussions and exercises in class;
o read all the ‘Essential’ readings for each lecture and write bullet-points for discussion on these;
o complete and submit assessed coursework on time.
Non-discrimination Statement: As a lecturer and as a person, I value equality of opportunity, fairness, human dignity, and racial, ethnic, sexual, physical and cultural diversity. Be assured that I will work to promote a safe and conducive environment for learning. In accordance with the University policy, we will not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, colour, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, civil status, familial status, sexual orientation, or disability. In addition to the University’s policy, and within the boundaries of the course, we do not discriminate on the basis of political credo. This means that you do not have to agree with me or your classmates in order to do well in this course. So long as you demonstrate an understanding of the course material, you are under no obligation to agree with it. If there is something I can do to make the class more welcoming and inclusive, please let me know.
Type of Assessment
Summative assessment will be determined through three main components: 1) a written essay, 2) a 15-minute oral presentation, and 3) in-class active participation.
Course program
In the last decades, sociologists have increasingly come to appreciate the key role emotions play in social life and begun to explore the social side of emotion—for example, how emotions are shaped socially and culturally, how emotions are socially controlled and the consequences of emotion for social life. Emotions charge people with motivation and sustain them with energy to carry out individual and collective goals; they help people evaluating issues and making decisions; they bind people to social groups, structures and institutions and, on the other hands, they can facilitate social change.
Whether as the social glue in social life or as the triggering element for social change, emotions are ubiquitous. They are vital in our everyday social interactions on the city sidewalk, in the coffee shop, at work, at school, in our families and in our daily encounters. They are a fundamental part of our relationships with other people and with larger social units such as political groups, nations, religions, intersecting sociological variables such as gender, class, race/ethnicity, ablebodiness, sexual orientation and religion. We will examine these and other sociological aspects of emotional experience in this course, including exploring current debates about the social functions of emotions.