Eva Illouz
Encyclopedia
Eva Illouz (born April 30, 1961 in Fes, Morocco
, is a Full Professor of Sociology
at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
, Morocco
, and moved to France
at the age of ten.
She received a B.A.
in sociology
, communication
and literature
in Paris an M.A.
in literature in Paris X, an M.A. in communication from the Hebrew University, and received her PhD
in communications and cultural studies
at the Annenberg School for Communication
of the University of Pennsylvania
in 1991. Her mentor was Prof. Larry Gross
, currently the head of the Annenberg School of Communications at USC. She has served as a visiting professor at Northwestern University
, Princeton University
, the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
) and as a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin
(Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin). In 2006, Illouz joined the Center for the Study of Rationality, then headed by Prof. Edna Ullman-Margalit.
Her book Consuming the Romantic Utopia won the Honorable Mention for the Best Book Award at the American Sociological Association, 2000 (emotions section).
Her book Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery won the Best Book Award, American Sociological Association, 2005 Culture Section.
In 2005 she delivered the Adorno lectures, at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt.
In 2009, she was chosen by the German leading newspaper Die Zeit as one of the 12 thinkers most likely to "change the thought of tomorrow."
Her work has been translated in 10 languages.
Five themes dominate her work:
has transformed emotional patterns, both in the realms of consumption
and production
.
So whether in the realm of production or that of consumption, emotions have been actively mobilized, solicited and shaped by economic forces, thus making modern people simultaneously emotional and economic actors.
What is common to theme 1 and theme 2 is the fact that both love and psychological health constitute utopias of happiness for the modern self, that both are mediated through consumption and that both constitute horizons to which the modern self aspire. In that sense, one large overarching theme of her work can be called utopia of happiness and their interactions with the utopia of consumption.
Illouz argue that Economists, psychologists and even sociologists tend to think of choice as a kind of fixed, invariant property of the mind, in which actors know what their preferences are and choose based on these preferences. Illouz argues that in modernity the whole ecology or architecture of choice –at least choice of a mate—has changed profoundly. “Ecology of choice” has to do with the ways in which people understand what they take to be their preferences, the relationship between emotion and rationality, and the very capacity to distinguish between and prioritize between the so-called emotional and rational preferences.
Illouz rejects such analysis of culture into the counting of the many ways in which it either emancipates or represses, delivers "trash" or "treasure," conforms to or does not conform to a model of human development or of the good polis. Instead, she tries to offer the notion of "immanent critique," which makes critique emerge from the self-understandings of actors. Cultural practices ought to be evaluated and criticized internally, according to the values they contain
: University of California Press
. (371 pp.). (Trad. esp.: El consumo de la utopía romántica, Buenos Aires/Madrid, Katz editores S.A, 2009, ISBN 9788496859531)
2. 2002. The Culture of Capitalism (in Hebrew). Israel University Broadcast (110 pp.).
3. 2003. Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery: An Essay on Popular Culture. Columbia University Press
(300 pp.)
4. 2007. Cold Intimacies: The Making of Emotional Capitalism, Polity Press
, London. (Trad. esp.: Intimidades congeladas, Buenos Aires/Madrid, Katz editores S.A, 2007, ISBN 9788496859173)
5. 2008, Saving the Modern Soul: Therapy, Emotions, and the Culture of Self-Help, the University of California Press.
6. 2012, Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation (appeared first in German: "Warum Liebe weh tut". Suhrkamp, Berlin 2011).
Fes, Morocco
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
, is a Full Professor of Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Biography
Eva Illouz was born in FesFes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the age of ten.
She received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
in Paris an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in literature in Paris X, an M.A. in communication from the Hebrew University, and received her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in communications and cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
at the Annenberg School for Communication
Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
The Annenberg School for Communication is the communications school at the University of Pennsylvania. The school was established in 1958 by Wharton School's alum Walter Annenberg as "The Annenberg School of Communications." The name was changed to its current title in the late 1980's.Walter...
of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1991. Her mentor was Prof. Larry Gross
Larry Gross
Larry Gross is an American screenwriter, producer, and occasionally a director. He won the 2004 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival for We Don't Live Here Anymore.-Filmography:...
, currently the head of the Annenberg School of Communications at USC. She has served as a visiting professor at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
The École des hautes études en sciences sociales is a leading French institution for research and higher education, a Grand Établissement. Its mission is research and research training in the social sciences, including the relationship these latter maintain with the natural and life sciences...
) and as a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin
Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin
The Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin in an interdisciplinary institute created 1981 in Berlin-Grunewald for studies in natural, social sciences for various research projects. It is a member of the group Some Institutes for Advanced Study....
(Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin). In 2006, Illouz joined the Center for the Study of Rationality, then headed by Prof. Edna Ullman-Margalit.
Her book Consuming the Romantic Utopia won the Honorable Mention for the Best Book Award at the American Sociological Association, 2000 (emotions section).
Her book Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery won the Best Book Award, American Sociological Association, 2005 Culture Section.
In 2005 she delivered the Adorno lectures, at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt.
In 2009, she was chosen by the German leading newspaper Die Zeit as one of the 12 thinkers most likely to "change the thought of tomorrow."
Her work has been translated in 10 languages.
Research
The research developed by Illouz from her dissertation onwards focuses on a number of themes at the junction of the study of emotions, culture and communication:Five themes dominate her work:
The ways in which capitalism has transformed emotional patterns
One dominant theme concerns the ways in which capitalismCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
has transformed emotional patterns, both in the realms of consumption
Consumption (economics)
Consumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally, consumption is defined in part by comparison to production. But the precise definition can vary because different schools of economists define production quite differently...
and production
Production, costs, and pricing
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to industrial organization:Industrial organization – describes the behavior of firms in the marketplace with regard to production, pricing, employment and other decisions...
.
Consuming the Romantic Utopia
This is the name of her first book, addresses a dual process: the commodification of romance and the romanticization of commodities. Looking at a wide sample of advertising images in women’s magazines of the 1930s’ and watching movies of that period, advertising and cinematic culture presented commodities as the vector for emotional experiences and particularly for the experience of romance. Commodities of many kinds –soaps, refrigerators, vacation packages, watches, diamonds, cereals, cosmetics, and many others—were presented as enabling the experience of love and romance. The second process was that of the commodification of romance, which is the process by which the 19th century practice of calling on a woman, that is going to her home, was replaced by dating, going out places and consuming together the increasingly powerful industries of leisure. Romantic encounters moved from the home to the sphere of consumer leisure with the result that the search for romantic love was made into a vector for the consumption of leisure goods produced by expanding industries of leisure.Cold Intimacies and Saving the Modern Soul
In her books Cold Intimacies and Saving the Modern Soul she examined how emotions figure in the realm of economic production: indeed in the American corporation, from the 1920s onward emotions became a conscious object of knowledge and construction and became closely connected to the language and techniques of economic efficiency. Psychologists were hired by American corporations to help increase productivity and better manage the workforce and these psychologists bridged between the emotional and the economic realms and actually intertwined emotions with the realm of economic action in the form of a radically new way of conceiving of the production process.So whether in the realm of production or that of consumption, emotions have been actively mobilized, solicited and shaped by economic forces, thus making modern people simultaneously emotional and economic actors.
The role of popular clinical psychology in shaping modern identity
llouz argue that Psychology is absolutely central to the constitution of modern identity and to modern emotional life: from the 1920s’ to the 1960s’ clinical psychologists became an extraordinarily dominant social group as they entered the army, the corporation, the school, the state, social services, the media, child rearing, sexuality, marriage, Church pastoral care, and all of in these realms, psychology established itself as the ultimate authority in matters of human distress, by offering techniques to transform and overcome that distress. Psychologists –of all persuasions—have provided the main narrative of self-development for the 20th century. The psychological persuasion has transformed what was classified as a moral problem into a disease and may thus be understood as part and parcel of the broader phenomenon of the medicalization of social life.What is common to theme 1 and theme 2 is the fact that both love and psychological health constitute utopias of happiness for the modern self, that both are mediated through consumption and that both constitute horizons to which the modern self aspire. In that sense, one large overarching theme of her work can be called utopia of happiness and their interactions with the utopia of consumption.
The transformation of the architecture or ecology of choice
This is a theme she has especially developed since becoming a member of the Center for the Study for Rationality at the Hebrew University in 2006.Illouz argue that Economists, psychologists and even sociologists tend to think of choice as a kind of fixed, invariant property of the mind, in which actors know what their preferences are and choose based on these preferences. Illouz argues that in modernity the whole ecology or architecture of choice –at least choice of a mate—has changed profoundly. “Ecology of choice” has to do with the ways in which people understand what they take to be their preferences, the relationship between emotion and rationality, and the very capacity to distinguish between and prioritize between the so-called emotional and rational preferences.
The unequal distribution of emotional development and emotional happiness
One dimension of Illouz’s work has been to understand the intersection of social class and emotion in two ways: how does class shape emotional practices; Are there emotional forms which we can associate with social domination? And the second is: if emotions are strategic responses to situations, that is, if they help us cope with situations and to shape them, do middle and upper middle classes have an advantadge over the poor and the destitute in the emotional realm? How do they establish this advantadge and what is its nature?The meta-theoretical theme is that of human development and social critique
Finally the fifth theme, which is a meta-theoretical theme is that of human development and social critique. Whatever one’s allegiance, the critique of culture is premised on two cardinal propositions: that culture must transcend the realm of ordinary practices; and that it ought to do this by instilling in us habits and outlooks conducive to the “good society” (whether it is defined by more equality and freedom, or by more religion and tradition).Illouz rejects such analysis of culture into the counting of the many ways in which it either emancipates or represses, delivers "trash" or "treasure," conforms to or does not conform to a model of human development or of the good polis. Instead, she tries to offer the notion of "immanent critique," which makes critique emerge from the self-understandings of actors. Cultural practices ought to be evaluated and criticized internally, according to the values they contain
Books Published
1. 1997. Consuming the Romantic Utopia: Love and the Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism. BerkeleyBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
: University of California Press
University of California Press
University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
. (371 pp.). (Trad. esp.: El consumo de la utopía romántica, Buenos Aires/Madrid, Katz editores S.A, 2009, ISBN 9788496859531)
2. 2002. The Culture of Capitalism (in Hebrew). Israel University Broadcast (110 pp.).
3. 2003. Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery: An Essay on Popular Culture. Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
(300 pp.)
4. 2007. Cold Intimacies: The Making of Emotional Capitalism, Polity Press
Polity (publisher)
Polity is an international publisher in the social sciences and humanities. It publishes around 100 books a year in sociology, politics, philosophy, media and cultural studies, health studies, literary studies, history, anthropology and related subjects. Its books range from core textbooks for...
, London. (Trad. esp.: Intimidades congeladas, Buenos Aires/Madrid, Katz editores S.A, 2007, ISBN 9788496859173)
5. 2008, Saving the Modern Soul: Therapy, Emotions, and the Culture of Self-Help, the University of California Press.
6. 2012, Why Love Hurts: A Sociological Explanation (appeared first in German: "Warum Liebe weh tut". Suhrkamp, Berlin 2011).
External links
- Illouz homepage at the Hebrew University
- Illouz homepage at the Herzelia Interdiscplinary Center
- "Love in the Time of Capital", an interview with Illouz in Guernica MagazineGuernica MagazineGuernica / A Magazine of Art and Politics is a biweekly online site that publishes art and photography, fiction, and poetry, from around the world, along with nonfiction such as letters from abroad, investigative pieces and opinion pieces on international affairs and U.S. domestic policy...
- Interview with Eva Illouz, in Barcelona Metropolis, 2010.
- Review of Saving the Modern Soul, by Helena Béjar in Barcelona Metropolis, 2010.