A Cultural History of the Emotions in the Age of Romanticism, Revolution, and Empire

Download or read book A Cultural History of the Emotions in the Age of Romanticism, Revolution, and Empire written by Susan J. Matt and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-08-20 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1780 and 1920, modern conceptions of emotion-conceptions still very much present in the 21st century-first took shape. This book traces that history, charting the changing meaning and experience of feelings in an era shaped by political and market revolutions, romanticism, empiricism, the rise of psychology and psychoanalysis. During this period, the word emotion itself gained currency, gradually supplanting older vocabularies and visions of feeling. Terms to describe feelings changed; so too did conceptions of emotions' proper role in politics, economics, and culture. Political upheavals turned a spotlight on the role of feeling in public life; in domestic life, sentimental bonds gained new importance, as families were transformed from productive units to emotional ones. From the halls of parliaments to the familial hearth, from the art museum to the theatre, from the pulpit to the concert hall, lively debates over feelings raged across the 19th century.