- Email: [email protected]
Theorizing Emotions: Sociological Explorations and Applications
Emotion, Space and Society 4 (2011) 65–66
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Emotion, Space and Society journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/emospa
Book review Theorizing Emotions: Sociological Explorations and Applications, Debra Hopkins, Jochen Kleres, Helena Flam, Helmut Kuzmics (Eds.). Campus Verlag and University of Chicago, Frankfurt/New York (2009). p. 343 2 figures; USD 47.00, ISBN: 978-3-593-38972-1
Over the last decade or so, the role of affect and emotion in shaping individual human behavior and thought, as well as institutions and processes related to the wider economy, politics, marriage, and family, has become an important field of study in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities alike. Theorizing Emotions is an attempt to map the contours of the interdisciplinary study of emotions emerging out of Europe. The twelve essays are rooted in the sociology of emotions pioneered initially by the classical theorists including Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, and Elias, and carried forward in the 1970s by Barbalet and others who brought together theory and research to constitute a field. The collection comes at a time when the idea of modernity and the modern economic and social order and their foundational principles of rationality and progress have increasingly come under the microscope. Patrick Becker’s theoretical essay, “What Makes Us Modern(s)? The Place of Emotions in Contemporary Society” takes on the conventional juxtaposition of the foundational principles of modernity – Enlightenment Reason and rationality, and the regulation of emotion – with emotionality, arguing instead that the turn to emotionalism is an integral part of modernity and its logic. Even those who pay attention to emotions tend to uphold the binarism of rationalism-versusemotionalism. As a way out of the binarism, Becker offers a compelling alternate model claiming a resurrection of the Romantic Movement with its emphasis on the expressive and the emotional as an impulse of the modern rather than its antithesis, as is commonly believed. Looking at the role of emotions in the economy is the introductory essay, “An Emotional Lens on the World” by a leading scholar of the field, Arlie Hochschild. She highlights her rich ideas about selfhood and the management of emotions by service providers who perform what she has termed ‘emotional labour,’ as part of the global service economy. Bill collectors and flight attendants – both subjects of her early work – are joined by wedding planners, nurses, child care workers, and surrogate mothers in performing care work in the emotional economy. Her work on the emotional dimensions of commodification of service and care in the economy has pioneered an entire sub-field of study, particularly of female emotional labour in the service economy. Helena Flam’s contribution, “Extreme Feelings and Feelings at Extremes” reviews pre- and post-war sociologists’ writings on
doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2010.07.002
a defining aspect of the sociology of emotion – the relationship between emotions and the social order. Indeed, core to the sociology of emotions is the set of debates regarding whether and in what ways emotions are shaped by the social order and mediated by culture, or vice versa. Early theorists viewed the rise of painful and negative emotions as a result of a disturbance or breakdown of the social order (Durkheim, Weber, Arendt); others (Simmel) suggested that once people become self-conscious of the painful emotions produced by difficult social interactions, they become invested in maintaining order and social norms. More recently, sociologists have begun to look at how social order could produce negative emotions. Flam picks up the thread of work from Simmel and others who wrote that emotions are enriching and indeed, constitutive of society and social relations, and emphasizes the importance of context in the experience of emotion. Also drawing attention to context is Illouz and Wilf’s chapter on romantic love in cross-cultural settings of the United States and Israel, “Hearts or Wombs? A Cultural Critique of Radical Feminist Critiques of Love” which takes on the liberal ideological divide between emotion and cognition, and the radical feminist critique of romantic love as another institution of women’s oppression and confinement to the private sphere. They situate Israeli ideas about love from popular magazines against a cultural context that does not confine women to the private sphere to demonstrate how romantic love, autonomous decision-making and roles in public life go hand-in-hand in Israeli society contravening radical feminist ideas that these are diametrically opposed. They emphasize the importance of context in the construction of emotion. Katrin Doveling’s essay, “Mediated Parasocial Emotions and Community: How Media May Strengthen or Weaken Social Communities” makes for an interesting read, as it compares reportage of, and very diverse public reactions to, the visit of the Pope in the US and Germany, respectively, and attempts to theorize the role of the media in creating community through shaping public emotion. However, she does not help her cause by her use of constructions such as “mediatized” and “medially” without clearly defining what she means by them. Other contributors cover related topics, including science and emotions (Simon J. Williams), looking at public response to refugees (James Goodman), the emotion of volunteerism (Jochen Kleres), formalization of emotions (Cas Wouters), references to emotion in classic texts (Helmut Kuzmics), and analysis of specific emotions such as shame (Thomas J. Scheff). A worthwhile attempt to bring together a diverse body of sociological work, the book will be of great use to researchers and students interested in how emotional experiences are shaped by the social world. The individual essays offer interesting insights on the developments of present understandings of emotions. However, the book lacks an overarching framework
66
Book review / Emotion, Space and Society 4 (2011) 65–66
that connects the essays as a cohesive whole. It could also have included some works on gender and emotion, given that the association of emotion with the feminine is a foundational assumption about gender identity. In addition, the book could have used a good conclusion or epilogue tying together some of the cross-cutting themes in the essays and providing some ideas on future directions for the study of emotions in various academic disciplines.
Yamini Atmavilas* Faculty, Gender Studies, Administrative Staff College of India, Centre for Human Development, Bella Vista, Raj Bhavan Road, Khairatabad, Hyderabad-500 082, Andhra Pradesh, India * Tel.: þ91 40 6653 4245. E-mail address: [email protected]. 5 July 2010
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Emotion, Space and Society journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/emospa
Book review Theorizing Emotions: Sociological Explorations and Applications, Debra Hopkins, Jochen Kleres, Helena Flam, Helmut Kuzmics (Eds.). Campus Verlag and University of Chicago, Frankfurt/New York (2009). p. 343 2 figures; USD 47.00, ISBN: 978-3-593-38972-1
Over the last decade or so, the role of affect and emotion in shaping individual human behavior and thought, as well as institutions and processes related to the wider economy, politics, marriage, and family, has become an important field of study in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities alike. Theorizing Emotions is an attempt to map the contours of the interdisciplinary study of emotions emerging out of Europe. The twelve essays are rooted in the sociology of emotions pioneered initially by the classical theorists including Weber, Durkheim, Simmel, and Elias, and carried forward in the 1970s by Barbalet and others who brought together theory and research to constitute a field. The collection comes at a time when the idea of modernity and the modern economic and social order and their foundational principles of rationality and progress have increasingly come under the microscope. Patrick Becker’s theoretical essay, “What Makes Us Modern(s)? The Place of Emotions in Contemporary Society” takes on the conventional juxtaposition of the foundational principles of modernity – Enlightenment Reason and rationality, and the regulation of emotion – with emotionality, arguing instead that the turn to emotionalism is an integral part of modernity and its logic. Even those who pay attention to emotions tend to uphold the binarism of rationalism-versusemotionalism. As a way out of the binarism, Becker offers a compelling alternate model claiming a resurrection of the Romantic Movement with its emphasis on the expressive and the emotional as an impulse of the modern rather than its antithesis, as is commonly believed. Looking at the role of emotions in the economy is the introductory essay, “An Emotional Lens on the World” by a leading scholar of the field, Arlie Hochschild. She highlights her rich ideas about selfhood and the management of emotions by service providers who perform what she has termed ‘emotional labour,’ as part of the global service economy. Bill collectors and flight attendants – both subjects of her early work – are joined by wedding planners, nurses, child care workers, and surrogate mothers in performing care work in the emotional economy. Her work on the emotional dimensions of commodification of service and care in the economy has pioneered an entire sub-field of study, particularly of female emotional labour in the service economy. Helena Flam’s contribution, “Extreme Feelings and Feelings at Extremes” reviews pre- and post-war sociologists’ writings on
doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2010.07.002
a defining aspect of the sociology of emotion – the relationship between emotions and the social order. Indeed, core to the sociology of emotions is the set of debates regarding whether and in what ways emotions are shaped by the social order and mediated by culture, or vice versa. Early theorists viewed the rise of painful and negative emotions as a result of a disturbance or breakdown of the social order (Durkheim, Weber, Arendt); others (Simmel) suggested that once people become self-conscious of the painful emotions produced by difficult social interactions, they become invested in maintaining order and social norms. More recently, sociologists have begun to look at how social order could produce negative emotions. Flam picks up the thread of work from Simmel and others who wrote that emotions are enriching and indeed, constitutive of society and social relations, and emphasizes the importance of context in the experience of emotion. Also drawing attention to context is Illouz and Wilf’s chapter on romantic love in cross-cultural settings of the United States and Israel, “Hearts or Wombs? A Cultural Critique of Radical Feminist Critiques of Love” which takes on the liberal ideological divide between emotion and cognition, and the radical feminist critique of romantic love as another institution of women’s oppression and confinement to the private sphere. They situate Israeli ideas about love from popular magazines against a cultural context that does not confine women to the private sphere to demonstrate how romantic love, autonomous decision-making and roles in public life go hand-in-hand in Israeli society contravening radical feminist ideas that these are diametrically opposed. They emphasize the importance of context in the construction of emotion. Katrin Doveling’s essay, “Mediated Parasocial Emotions and Community: How Media May Strengthen or Weaken Social Communities” makes for an interesting read, as it compares reportage of, and very diverse public reactions to, the visit of the Pope in the US and Germany, respectively, and attempts to theorize the role of the media in creating community through shaping public emotion. However, she does not help her cause by her use of constructions such as “mediatized” and “medially” without clearly defining what she means by them. Other contributors cover related topics, including science and emotions (Simon J. Williams), looking at public response to refugees (James Goodman), the emotion of volunteerism (Jochen Kleres), formalization of emotions (Cas Wouters), references to emotion in classic texts (Helmut Kuzmics), and analysis of specific emotions such as shame (Thomas J. Scheff). A worthwhile attempt to bring together a diverse body of sociological work, the book will be of great use to researchers and students interested in how emotional experiences are shaped by the social world. The individual essays offer interesting insights on the developments of present understandings of emotions. However, the book lacks an overarching framework
66
Book review / Emotion, Space and Society 4 (2011) 65–66
that connects the essays as a cohesive whole. It could also have included some works on gender and emotion, given that the association of emotion with the feminine is a foundational assumption about gender identity. In addition, the book could have used a good conclusion or epilogue tying together some of the cross-cutting themes in the essays and providing some ideas on future directions for the study of emotions in various academic disciplines.
Yamini Atmavilas* Faculty, Gender Studies, Administrative Staff College of India, Centre for Human Development, Bella Vista, Raj Bhavan Road, Khairatabad, Hyderabad-500 082, Andhra Pradesh, India * Tel.: þ91 40 6653 4245. E-mail address: [email protected]. 5 July 2010