Research Handbook on the Sociology of Emotion

Book excerpt: The Research Handbook on the Sociology of Emotion investigates the role of emotions in key institutions understood as the frames and fabrics of society. It takes a critical look at society-framing institutions such as the state, the military, the market, and international organizations. The Research Handbook presents Marxist, Simmelian and Eliasian theory to explore contemporary institutions as emotional rule regimes operating at individual, institutional and structural levels. Chapters question cognitivist approaches to the state, courts, social sciences, the workplace, nationalism, education, migration, cross-border family, and religion, investigating the ambivalent and conflicting emotions associated with each and shedding light on the emotional logics intertwined with institutional work. Taking stock of what the sociology of emotions teaches us about the institutions, societies, and states in which we live, the Research Handbook formulates a novel agenda for future research in this burgeoning field. Highlighting the emotional cultures and emotional rule regimes nested in institutions, this innovative Research Handbook will be a thought-provoking read for students and scholars of sociology and sociological theory, cultural sociology, sociology of emotions and social psychology.