Social Feelings

Course Description

Summary

The buzz of a protest, the hushed anticipation of an audience, the euphoria of the festival - where do these feelings come from? And further, what do they generate? This course considers how we can study feelings which are located not only within an individual, but between us - that is, within the social. This course will introduce students to a range of methods anthropologists have developed in the study of feelings, emotions, “passions,” and affects. By applying these methods to a series of ethnographic exercises, students will consider concretely: how do feelings shape our social worlds?