SOC301 – Intro to Sociology of Emotions: Did you cry at Avengers: Endgame?

Abstract

We’re back y’all!! And we’re starting off our third season with a deep dive into the field of the Sociology of Emotions, a relatively young but uber fascinating subfield. What exactly are emotions? How are some emotions more social than others? And why is it that Ellen cried twice watching Avengers: Endgame, while Penn was frustrated and Omar was just a little sad? Tune in to learn more! And remember to give us a rating and subscribe if you haven’t already.

Keywords

Emotions, feelings, microsociology, social psychology

Sources

  • Peggy Thoits is seen as one of the founding scholars of the Sociology of Emotions
    • She argues in her article, “The Sociology of Emotions” (1989) that emotions are comprised of 4 elements:
    • 1.     Appraisals of a situational stimulus or context
    • 2.     Changes in physiological or bodily sensations
    • 3.     The free or inhibited display of expressive gestures
    • 4.     A cultural label applied to specific constellations of one or more of the first three components
      •  ***All 4 components do not need to be present for an emotion to be expressed or recognized by others***
  • Arlie Hochschild (who we’ll be covering in the very near future) is also a huge scholar of emotions, so check her out.
  • Peter Burke and Jan Stets in Identity Theory (2009) define emotions as, “emotions generally refer to the feelings individuals experience in situations” (p. 155).
  • Avengers: Endgame trailer for all of you living under a rock who haven’t seen it (sry ‘bout the spoilers!)
  • Amazon rainforest is burning!
  • Alaska is burning!
  • Disneyland’s recent opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a) Phreaking phenomenal and b) Causing decreased attendance at the entire park

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