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SoSe 23: Emotions and social stratification

Philipp Wunderlich

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The seminar examines the relationship between emotions and the stratification of society. Structural positions and social class are typically discussed in terms of income and resources, education, power, status or different forms of capital. However, structural positions of individuals are also linked to specific emotional experiences. Hereby, the relationship between social stratification and emotions is reciprocal, multifaceted and dynamic.

First, emotions are shaped by social structures and their respective cultural contexts in different ways. For example, individuals with lower socio-economic status may experience greater levels of anxiety due to financial and occupational insecurities. Also, status emotions like envy or pride which arise in structured social interactions and in social comparisons can be understood as the bodily felt experiences and relational expressions of differences in power, or socioeconomic status. Additionally, different normative expectations regarding emotion expressions, but also different emotion repertoires or emotional practices, may be associated with certain socio-structural positions. One example might be the emotion management that is required in many service oriented middle-class jobs.

Second, stratified emotions are consequential for social structures. Emotion expressions can shape perceptions of individuals and thus affect their opportunities for social mobility. Also, emotions are guiding individual and collective actions. Therefore, stratified emotions can play a role in different forms of class conflicts as well as in the legitimization of social structures and the formation of social solidarity. Thus, emotions are not only a shaped by socioeconomic structures but can also play a role in their reproduction or transformation.

In this seminar, we will read relevant theory and empirical research on the topic, critically discuss these readings and attempt to apply insights to new cases. Furthermore, this seminar will put an emphasis on individual and collaborative writing, leading up to your final seminar paper. close