К изучению эмоциональной культуры: социологическая перспектива

Личность. Культура. Общество. 2022. Т. 24. № 2 (114). С. 142–157.

Simonova O. A.

The author attempts to define the contours of the concept of “emotional culture” based on existing works in the sociology of emotions. Although there are many studies that describe an emotional culture in general and through specific emotional states, the problem of the conceptual apparatus for its study is far from being solved. An emotional culture is formed within a particular society in a particular historical period and represents a configuration of the beliefs, normative elements (emotional regime), and emotional practices, according to which certain feelings are nurtured and encouraged, and according to which people experience and express them.

The main task of the study of emotional culture is to reveal its role in the functioning of the social order, to discover the configurations of beliefs and practices in the experience of individuals, social groups, and social structure. In contemporary societies, as suggested by contemporary works in the sociology of emotions, a neo-sentimentalist culture is emerging as an unintended consequence of the plethora of causes – the rationalization of all aspects of society, modern consumer culture, individualization, psychologization, and others. The combination of a rational attitude to emotions and at the same time a special attention to feelings, a persistent search for authentic feelings characterizes the modern emotional culture. One of the brightest manifestations of the today emotional culture is the phenomenon of “emotional labor”, when a human emotionality – the ability to manage emotions, recognize them, comprehend them, show, change and demonstrate them – is commercialized and becomes an integral part of the most occupations, and simultaneously transferred into the everyday life and psychologically organizes it.

Keywords: социология эмоций, emotional regimes, эмоциональная культура, emotional culture, emotional labor, эмоциональный труд, the sociology of emotions, emotional practices, эмоциональные практики, эмоциональный режим

Publication based on the results of: Моральные эмоции в отношениях неравенства: регуляция и социальные последствия (российский контекст) (2021)