Review article: The History of Emotions

There has been much recent work on emotion by historians, and three recent books on the history of emotions are reviewed: What is the History of Emotions? by Barbara H. Rosenwein and Riccardo Christiani; The History of Emotions by Rob Boddice; and The History of Emotions: An Introduction by Jan Plamper. Key debates are how to handle the fact that different periods have used different vocabulary for apparently similar emotions, how to find a path between the extremes of universalism and social constructionism, and how to characterise the social structures that regulate the expression of emotions. The work on emotions by historians includes a critical assessment of the study of emotions by psychologists.