Emotions in Social Life: Critical Themes and Contemporary Issues Book

Emotions are "social things," controlled and managed in our everyday lives, transcending the divides between mind and body, nature and culture, structure and action. Yet the dominance of rationality in Western (masculinist) social thought has led to the relative neglect of emotions as "irrational," private, inner sensations which have been tied to women's "hysterical bodies." Emotions in Social Life consolidates the sociology of emotions as a legitimate and viable field of inquiry, providing a comprehensive assessment of the sociology of emotions. Emotions have fundamental implications for all pertinent sociological themes and issues, in particular, social action and social identity, gender, sexuality and intimacy, the embodiment of emotions across the life-course, health and illness, and the social organization of emotions in the workplace.Read More