Introduction

Chapter 1 covers two major areas within the language of emotions: the first covers the conceptual framework of emotions and looks at how different emotions have gained contemporary currency. These include both positive and negative emotions: happiness, anger, fear, love, friendship, sadness, depression, sympathy, shame and grief among others.

The second part of the chapter covers perspectives on emotions, including feminist, cultural and sociological perspectives. In ‘Affect as methodology: feminism and the politics of emotion’, Ahall (2018) considers the political meaning of the ‘affective-turn’ in feminism. One of the key feminist theorists in this field is Sara Ahmed (2014), as she (Ahmed, 2014: 208) explains: ‘I turned to emotions as they help me to explain not only how we are affected in this way or that, by this or that, but also how these judgements then hold or become agreed as shared perceptions’. This chapter explores early feminist perspectives on emotions and highlights their importance for the intersection of feminism and emotions.

Cultural perspectives on emotions have been championed by the work of Eva Illouz (2007, 2008, 2014, 2018) among others. Illouz's work has more recently focused on the intersection of emotions, neoliberal capitalism and consumption, and the range of her work is explored for an understanding of cultural perspectives on the emotions. Illouz's work has encapsulated some of the most significant changes in cultural perspectives on emotions. The author charts these changes over the course of the book and considers the contribution of this significant theorist to debates in the field.

Finally, sociological perspectives on emotions have a strong tradition in defining and understanding emotions. Some of the theorists covered in this area include, among others: Hochschild (1979, 1983); Scheff (1990); Barbalet (2002, 2004, 2009); Burkitt (2002); Turner (2009); Bericat (2016). The chapter considers some of the main trends in the sociology of emotions established by these theorists. It also considers shifts in the perspectives and the intersection with other theorists and traditions (Holmes, 2004; Wharton, 2009; Goodwin et al, 2014; among others).

Part I. The language of emotions – concepts

A number of sociologists have attempted to group concepts around the emotions within a typology, although the exact significance of such typologies is unclear.