Outrage. Eva Illouz and Hartmut Rosa on Emotions in our Democracy

Emotions have always been part of social discourse and have always played an important role in politics. But the tone of debates has become rougher in recent years. Social media are driving polarization and outrage, fueling heated and often irreconcilable arguments. Spaces for discourse are narrowing and fragmenting, becoming emotionally charged.

What does this new excitability mean for our coexistence? How does our consumer culture contribute to the changes in our social emotional life? Answers to these questions are provided by the French-Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz, who has been exploring the sociology of emotions in capitalist societies for many years, most recently in her book “Explosive Modernity”. The German sociologist Hartmut Rosa has also studied phenomena of social acceleration and the constant search for enhancement. Together, they will discuss the key feelings in our democracy: fear, disappointment, anger, but also love and shame. How can social sciences help us to better understand our society and the role that emotions play in it?

Eva Illouz is Director of Studies at the Centre Européen de Sociologie et de Science Politique in Paris and Research Professor “Emotional Idioms of Capitalism” at the WZB.

Hartmut Rosa is Professor of General and Theoretical Sociology at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Director of the Max-Weber-Kolleg in Erfurt.

The discussion is presented by the journalist Catherine Newmark.

Welcoming remarks by Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, President of the WZB

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The venue is wheelchair accessible. Please let Swea Starke (swea.starke@wzb.eu) know if you need special assistance.