Description
Book SynopsisIt is commonly assumed that capitalism has created an a-emotional world dominated by bureaucratic rationality; that economic behavior conflicts with intimate, authentic relationships; that the public and private spheres are irremediably opposed to each other; and that true love is opposed to calculation and self-interest.
Trade Review“Well written, conceptually rich, and a welcome addition to the critical literature on emotion. It stands in juxtaposition to the dominant psychological models of emotion that have been unreflectively and uncritically reproduced, especially in organizational behaviour texts.”
British Journal of Sociology "Illuminates the contemporary expansion of therapeutic models of self and relationships into all aspects of life."
Meghan Falvey, Modern Painters
"Once again, Eva Illouz demonstrates that she is a true heir to the rich intellectual tradition of the Frankfurt School. Taking on the exploration of the important territory where public culture and private consciousness connect, Illouz brilliantly develops the concepts of emotional capital and emotional competence. This elegantly concise book will take its place alongside -- and engage in provocative conversation with -- the work of Bourdieu, Foucault, and Giddens."
Larry Gross, University of Southern California
"In a tour de force of intellectual and cultural history, Eva Illouz traces the entry of intimate emotions into what many thinkers have interpreted as the desiccating, rationalizing discourse and practice of capitalism. She opens our eyes to the large impact of therapeutic and feminist viewpoints on prevailing interpretations of economic life."
Viviana A. Zelizer, Princeton University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vi
1 The Rise of Homo Sentimentalis 1
Freud and the Clark lectures 5
A new emotional style 16
The communicative ethic as the spirit of the corporation 18
The roses and thorns of the modern family 24
Conclusion 36
2 Suffering, Emotional Fields, and Emotional Capital 40
Introduction 40
The self-realization narrative 43
Emotional fields, emotional habitus 62
The pragmatics of psychology 67
Conclusion 71
3 Romantic Webs 74
Romancing the Internet 75
Virtual meetings 76
Ontological self-presentation 79
Fantasy and disappointment 95
Conclusion: A new Machiavellian move 108
Notes 115
Index 130
