Batja Mesquita, "Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions" (Norton, 2022)

New Books in Sociology · Jan 26, 2023 · 29m

Today I talked to Batja Mesquita about her book Between Us: How Cultures Create Emotions (Norton, 2022). To a degree sometimes not realized, we discuss emotions through the lens of what have been called WEIRD cultures, i.e. Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic. As a result, the perspective taken tends to be inside/out, privileging one’s private feelings: a Mine approach. Yet in much of the world, more of an Ours approach prevails, with an understanding of emotions as being important because they help us navigate the cultures we live in. So as Batja Mesquita notes, emotions…