Emotionengeschichte als Körpergeschichte. Eine heuristische Perspektive auf religiöse Konversionen im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (Emotions History as Body History. A Heuristic Perspective on Religious Conversions in the 19th and 20th Centuries)

Emotions are anchored in the body, but this should not be viewed as their ahistorical, universal foundation. This essay argues for an application of theories which have already proved useful for the anthropology and history of the body to the history of emotions. Concepts such as "habitus"...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geschichte und Gesellschaft (Göttingen) 2009-04, Vol.35 (2), p.282-313
Main Authors: Eitler, Pascal, Scheer, Monique
Format: Article
Language:ger
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Emotions are anchored in the body, but this should not be viewed as their ahistorical, universal foundation. This essay argues for an application of theories which have already proved useful for the anthropology and history of the body to the history of emotions. Concepts such as "habitus" and "materialization" can be used to understand the processes through which historically mutable emotional experiences are learned and embodied. Case studies of conversion experiences among 19th-century Methodists and 20th-century "New Agers" illustrate how such an approach might be used to interpret historical source material. From this perspective, emotions can be analyzed not as autonomous reactions, but as social practices and techniques.
ISSN:0340-613X