WHAT IS LONELINESS?
3.7
What is an emotion?
What is an emotion – and why don’t we all feel the same? An anthropological inquiry into how emotions emerge between biology, culture and language.
Are emotions universal human reactions, or are they shaped by culture and language? This session explores key theories in the anthropology of emotion – from the concept of basic emotions to the role of cultural meaning and social norms. Drawing on ethnographic examples from the Philippines and the Canadian Arctic, the lecture invites reflection on how feelings like loneliness are produced, experienced and interpreted in different contexts.
Reflect and Note
Discuss – in your learning diary – whether the fact that people in different cultures describe and name emotional experiences differently leads to the conclusion that they also feel differently and have different emotional experiences?
Author: Michael Stasik
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