Unit name | Emotions in Contemporary Society - 3rd year |
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Unit code | SPAI30005 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Perrier |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
This unit introduces students to the critical study of emotions from an interdisciplinary perspective. What are the links between inequalities, identities and emotions and how do emotions participate in creating social, cultural and political boundaries between self and other? We consider the emotional dimension of issues of racism, classism, misogyny, and nationalism and critically examine the role of emotion in reproducing and challenging social inequalities. The unit introduces students to different conceptual models of emotion, with a view to understanding what sociological theorising can contribute to understanding emotions and how it might compliment other traditional psychological models of emotion. We consider a range of social science concepts such as affect, the unconscious, emotional labour, therapeutic culture which students are encouraged to apply in different social contexts e.g. in the workplace, health, politics using a range of sources such as advertising, film, TV, music and literature.
On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:
1hr lecture and 2hr seminar
Formative Student group presentations
Summative 3000 word essay (100%)
Bendelow, G. and Williams, S. J. (Eds.) (1997) Emotions in Social Life: Critical Themes and Contemporary Issues Routledge London.
Barbalet, J. (2001) Emotion, Social Theory, and Social Structure, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Craib, I. (1989) Psychoanalysis and Social Theory: The Limits of Sociology, Harvester Wheatsheaf, London.
Ahmed, S. (2004) The Cultural Politics of Emotion Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Clarke, S. (2003) Social Theory, Psychoanalysis and Racism London: Palgrave.
Clarke, S., Hoggett, P. and Thompson, S. (eds.), Emotion, politics and society, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. (all chapters)