Shame: A Brief History

History of Emotions

by Peter N. Stearns

Shame varies as an individual experience and its manifestations across time and cultures. Groups establish identity and enforce social behaviors through shame and shaming, while attempts at shaming often provoke a social or political backlash. Yet historians often neglect shame’s power to complicate individual, international, cultural, and political relationships.

Peter N. Stearns draws on his long career as a historian of emotions to provide the foundational text on shame’s history and how this history contributes to contemporary issues around the emotion.

Summarizing current research, Stearns unpacks the major debates that surround this complex emotion. He also surveys the changing role of shame in the United States from the nineteenth century to today, including shame’s revival as a force in the 1960s and its place in today’s social media. Looking ahead, Stearns maps the abundant opportunities for future historical research and historically informed interdisciplinary scholarship.

Written for interested readers and scholars alike, Shame combines significant new research with a wider synthesis.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Grad School, Philosophy, Psychology

182 pages, ebook

Published September 15, 2017

About the author

Peter Nathaniel Stearns is a professor at George Mason University, where he was provost from January 1, 2000 to July 2014.
Stearns was chair of the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University and also served as the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (now named Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences) at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, he founded and edited the Journal of Social History. While at Carnegie Mellon, he developed a pioneering approach to teaching World History, and has contributed to the field as well through editing, and contributing to, the Routledge series, Themes in World History. He is also known for various work on the nature and impact of the industrial revolution and for exploration of new topics, particularly in the history of emotions.
He is active in historical groups such as the American Historical Association, the Society for French Historical Studies, the Social Science History Association and the International Society for Research on Emotion.

Reviews

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d never given much thought to the history of emotions so when I came across this “work of emotions history” I was intrigued.

This study seeks to sum up most of the existing historical findings, with related insights from other disciplines, while also extending historical analysis particularly around developments in the United States over the past two centuries.

In exploring the history of shame, the author touches on its psychology and includes references to sociology, anthropology and philosophy. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are all mentioned.

In China, it has been estimated that up to 10 percent of Confucius’s writings center around the importance of shame.

This book differentiates between guilt and shame throughout history, contrasting guilt-based and shame-based societies. It focuses on shame and shaming in a number of contexts, both public (from stocks to Jerry Springer) and private. Anticipatory, reintegrative and punitive shame are addressed, with examples given from around the world. The focus, however, is on Western society.

Precisely because shame takes root in a fear that others will turn away from us and find us wanting, we keep our shame to ourselves - we fear that revelation will actualize the very rejection we worry about.

I found the information connecting shame and the criminal justice system particularly interesting. The role that parents, schools, religion, sports, politics and the media have played over time in redefining shame were also addressed. The disparity that has existed as a result of gender, race, culture, sexuality, disability, poverty and social status were discussed. The anonymity of the internet along with the history and current prevalence of slut shaming and fat shaming were also mentioned.

One of my pet peeves, that I mostly come across in textbooks, is when the author spends a significant amount of time outlining what will be explored later in the chapter or subsequent chapters, or recapping what’s already been explained. When I first picked up this book I gave up before I reached 10% because I was so frustrated by constantly reading passages that included:

The third major section of this chapter explores

The overall goal of the chapter

As Chapter 3 and 4 explore

It got to a point where it felt like their main purpose was to add to the word count and I came close to discarding the book a second time because of it. When the actual information was provided I found it quite interesting, despite some sections that were very dry. It definitely had that textbooky feel throughout the book (it’s published by a university, after all) but when I came across passages that weren’t telling me what I was going to read about later I enjoyed them.

I disagree with the author when they claim that shame is only a human emotion, that animals “lack appropriate awareness of hierarchy”. If you’ve ever caught a dog doing something they know they shouldn’t have been, then I think you’d also beg to differ.

The footnotes, which include references, are quite extensive, making up over 10% of the book.

Content warnings include mention of death by suicide, mental health and sexual assault.

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Illinois Press for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of emotion is a fascinating and burgeoning area. Stearns has produced a remarkable book, particularly exploring how shame is used to create normative cultures. Shame is used to patrol groups to ensure that order is maintained. How this was created in agrarian and industrial economies is well revealed through this book.

Shame is a product of primary and secondary socialization - and it changes. Stearns offers an outstanding intervention in the creation of modernity, showing the role of shame in reinforcing power.

[John Plowright · Rating 3 out of 5]

After Adam and Eve defied God and ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

Anyone reading ‘Genesis’ might thus be tempted to think that shame has always been with us and it certainly seems to be one of the defining characteristics of humanity insofar as we are the only species to blush. However, the boundary, if any, between shame and embarrassment, like that between shame and guilt, is hotly contested, not least because varying over time and between cultures.

In ‘Shame’ (the latest volume in the History of Emotions series which he co-edits with Susan J. Matt), Peter N. Stearns skilfully steers the reader through this minefield, summing up “most of the existing historical findings, with related insights from other disciplines [psychology, sociology, anthropology and philosophy], while also extending historical analyses particularly around developments in the United States over the past two centuries” which, Stearns argues, has seen a decline in some senses of shame, between 1850 and the 1960s, with a revival since the 1970s. If shame is not actually ubiquitous Stearns certainly regards it as extremely resilient, as it “seems to survive and even flourish amid official disapproval”.

Is shame a good thing (as in the eyes who advocate “naming and shaming”) or a bad thing (in fuelling so-called honour killings, for example, or merely for fuelling resentment and anger on the part of the shamed)? Stearns addresses these and many other questions by examining religious, philosophical, psychological and literary texts (notably ‘The Scarlet Letter’) as well as in relation to topics such as child-rearing, education and penology.

There is an abundance of evidence in some areas (it’s estimated, for example, that 10 per cent of the writings of Confucius centre upon the importance of shame) but a dearth in others to add to the aforementioned problem of the way in which it’s not always possible to differentiate clearly between shame and guilt (and embarrassment). It’s obviously not Stearns’s fault that this is the case but his repeated pleas for more comparative research can become a bit tedious and it doesn’t help matters that even after reviewing the global history of the subject he remains in two minds about the possible benefits of shame in certain circumstances, counselling that “scholarship on shame might usefully seek a more careful balance between reproving the emotion and discussing the social needs it seems to serve.”

Although this is a relatively short book it is heavy going at times, raising many more questions than it answers. Indeed, by the end Stearns only appears completely unequivocal on two issues, namely, that “the history of shame … shatters any remnants of the old distinction between shame-based and guilt-based societies that might feed a Western sense of superiority” and that contemporary bankers have no shame: two views which one assumes the vast majority are likely to regard as uncontentious.

To sum up, ‘Shame’ contains much of interest, particularly on contemporary attempts at shaming (such as that undertaken against smokers by healthcare professionals and the wider non-smoking community) but the overall story, with its complicated trajectories, definitional and evidential difficulties and mostly tentative conclusions does not make the book a very satisfying read. In the final analysis, for a book about an emotion, the overall result is surprisingly lifeless, which is a real shame.

[A.J. Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Peter Stearns did a brilliant job of presenting shaming uses and norms in societies past and present, and I love the way he examines the resurgence of shame 's use as a force in today 's social media.

I’m very interested in this topic because I live in Malaysia, a country with a collective and hierarchical culture, which means shame is perceived and used in ways that we don’t really see much of in the West. This really helped me pull together some threads of thought, and I am certain that I will be better at my job because of it.

Shame: A Brief History is a well researched beautifully written thought-provoking book! A must read for psychologists, leaders, teachers, parents, managers and anyone interested in human nature.

I received a copy of this book from the publishers through NetGalley and am reviewing voluntarily.

[Dani (The Pluviophile Writer) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars.
ebook, 182 pages.
Read from July 11, 2017 to July 20, 2017.

"Shame, as an emotion, has a core meaning, in relating individuals to wider social groups and norms -- real or imagined"

Shame, we have all felt it. However, the majority of people undermine how much it has shaped the world that we interact with everyday. From our sexual behaviour, politics, self-worth, and even our upbringing.  What is shame and what makes it different from guilt? For many scholars, this has been a broad and difficult definition to tackle and an even harder topic to discuss in terms of history and its impact on modern society.  Peter N. Stearns attempts to address these grey areas with his new book which, is set to be published in September 2017.

"Guilty people apologize and also take steps to avoid repetition. Shame, in contrast, is a more global emotion, which can emerge in response to the same kind of wrong act and violation of standards. It may develop earlier in life than guilt-- guilt requires more cognitive sorting capacity-- but above all it emphasizes self-abasement. It is the self that is at fault, not the commission of the act. This creates greater pain and intensity than guilt. A shamed person feels very bad indeed-- but also makes it more difficult to escape."

The novel opens with the widely debated matter of shame versus guilt and whether or not shame is a primal human emotion. In order to address the history of shame, the author breaks down the novel into four more additional chapters to address each stage in history and how shame is built and progresses through time.

The author draws from a wide-variety of knowledge and cultures to provide excellent examples of shame from across the globe.  The most impressionable chapter of the book was by far the last chapter which addressed shame in modern-day USA. The reason I felt this chapter was successful was that it was channelled and concise where as the previous chapters, while interesting and insightful, covered a globally large scope on shame.  As a result, I also felt that the author missed out on key topics of shame, specifically with women's sexuality and minorities, both historically and for our present day. While it was mentioned and discussed to a point, surely a large portion of how shame is structured and how it has created our current social and cultural society was built and carried on the backs of shamed women and minorities? Perhaps it is too presumptuous for me to suggest that, however, this book would have benefited from discussing the effects of shame within one country or continent, rather than that of the whole world.

In the last chapter, the author also discusses how technology and social media has given rise to a revival of shame in the modern-day. I also appreciated the references and discussions that the author made in relation to other current researchers on shame, such as Brené Brown.

Overall, this novel is an intriguing look into how shame has shaped our world over the years and how it is currently effecting our everyday lives. The majority of this book is historical in nature but there are also some good sociological and psychological insights as well. I would recommend this book for those looking for an academic read on a topic that is worthy of more exploration.

A big thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Arcelia Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a surprise for me because I do not think that I have seen many others trying to understand the emotion of shame, and Stearns does mention that this is a relatively new topic that requires more exploration. However, although humans experience shame, provoke shame on others, and even purposely use it to reach our personal and social goals, we do not know much about shame except that we do not like the feeling. This book is trying to explain how shame may have had a significant force in our history and how it may continue to play an important part in our future. It is a relatively short book and much is said that can be of interest to historians, philosophers, psychologists, and those with a good dose of curiosity.

[Denise Sudbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

really at 3.5 most of the time....style gets ponderous, challenging to read....some things should be footnoted...in the interest of being even-handed, he sometimes seems overly optimistic

helpful for connected resources

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently written, and a great intellectual dive into shame. Shame is such an integral part of the human experience, and this book fills a gap in the current literature. History is often looked at as a series of events and social experiences, but the nuances are often left by the wayside. Shame is one of those nuances that changes not only from culture to culture, but individual to individual, and can be wielded as a mighty weapon to influence and control others. A must-read for those who wish to dive deeper.

[Mills College Library]

152.4 S7999 2017