Emotions and Social Change Historical and Sociological Perspectives [Paperback]

This edited collection takes a critical perspective on Norbert Eliass theory of the civilizing process, through historical essays and contemporary analysis from sociologists and cultural theorists. It focuses on changes in emotional regimes or styles and considers the intersection of emotions and social change, historically and contemporaneously. The book is set in the context of increasing interest among humanities and social science scholars in reconsidering the significance of emotion and affect in society, and the development of empirical research and theorizing around these subjects. Some have labeled this interest as an affective turn or a turn to affect, which suggests a profound and wide-ranging reshaping of disciplines. Building upon complex theoretical models of emotions and social change, the chapters exemplify this shift in analysis of emotions and affect, and suggest different approaches to investigation which may help to shape the direction of sociological and historical thinking and research.

Introduction  1. The Emotional Turn in the Humanities and Social Sciences  David Lemmings and Ann Brooks  2. Norbert Elias and Emotions in History  Robert van Krieken  3. The Affective Turn in the Social Sciences and the Gendered Nature of Emotions: Theorizing Emotions in the Social Sciences from 1800 to the Present  Ann Brooks  Part 1: Identifying Emotional Communities  4. Searching for Emotional Communities in Late Medieval England  Melissa Raine  5. The Emotional Economies of Protestant Missions to Aboriginal People in Nineteenth-Century Australia  Claire McLisky  6. Mediated Public Emotion: Collective Grief and Australian Natural Disasters  Michelle Duffy and Susan Yell  Part 2: Emotions al6