Anger: The Conflicted History of an Emotion

by Barbara H. Rosenwein

Tracing the story of anger from the Buddha to Twitter, Rosenwein provides a much-needed account of our changing and contradictory understandings of this emotion

All of us think we know when we are angry, and we are sure we can recognize anger in others as well. But this is only superficially true. We see anger through lenses colored by what we know, experience, and learn.

Barbara H. Rosenwein traces our many conflicting ideas about and expressions of anger, taking the story from the Buddha to our own time, from anger’s complete rejection to its warm reception. Rosenwein explores how anger has been characterized by gender and race, why it has been tied to violence and how that is often a false connection, how it has figured among the seven deadly sins and yet is considered a virtue, and how its interpretation, once largely the preserve of philosophers and theologians, has been gradually handed over to scientists—with very mixed results. Rosenwein shows that the history of anger can help us grapple with it today.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, History, Emotion, Psychology

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 11, 2020

About the author

Prof. Barbara Rosenwein was the Humanitas Visiting Professor in Historiography at the University of Oxford for the year 2014-2015.

Barbara H. Rosenwein (Ph.D. (1974), B.A. (1966), University of Chicago) is a professor at Loyola University Chicago. An internationally renowned historian, she has been a guest professor at the École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France; the École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France; the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and most recently at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Since 2009, Rosenwein has been an affiliated research scholar at the Centre for the History of the Emotions at Queen Mary University in London. She was a scholar in residence at the American Academy in Rome in 2001-2002 and was elected Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America in 2003.

Reviews

[Laura Barbieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it says it is - a conflicted history of emotion. I appreciate that the author discussed the emotion of anger in various philosophies and religions ranging from Buddhism, Stoicism, Aristotle, Christianity (and more) in a clarifying informational way which did not include her own judgment or viewpoint. I also appreciated learning about cultures such as the Semai of the Malayan peninsula and The Utko Eskimos whose cultures purposefully avoid anger. I was intrigued, but not surprised, that as she moved throughout history, it was culturally acceptable for upper class men to be angry - leaving terms such as "unbridled" "wanton" and "in a passion" terms for members of lower classes (still men). Rosenwein continues to weave the philosophies of anger throughout the book, using them as she discusses the anger expressed today by battling political factions, allowing the reader to see how the anger expressed by both sides is a similar, righteous anger. on both sides.
Why does any of this matter?
Perhaps understanding the way anger has been thought about, expressed, suppressed, diagnosed and treated over time and throughout the world can help us become more understanding, more empathetic both toward ourselves and others.

[Marcy Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting concise history on the topic, where anger is treated in terms of psychology, philosophy, and theory. Rosenwein does a great job in providing interesting information and trying to fit it into a well researched book.

While this is a history book, it does drag a bit, to the point I could only read it in chunks at a time. I don’t think it’s as easy to read as it may aim to be, but for those who don’t know much on the topic or want to go more into detail than this is perfect.

[Khan Ashraf Alif · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dragging theoretical & literature based

[Kelly M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sort of a history book, and a little more dense than I would have liked.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 Took me ages to finish because as interested as i was in the historical approach and idea... the organizational structure did not deliver.

[Frankie]

kinda dry but generally interesting

[Shelby Bollen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really happy to be approved to review a copy of this book by Netgalley.
It covers the super interesting topic of anger, and how it is treated/viewed within different fields, for example, psychology and theology.
There is no denying that this is an exceptionally well-researched book. The sheer breadth of information the author attempted to relay was astounding. However, it was far far too dense. To me, this read like a thesis/essay, and I struggled to read it for long periods of time. Had the writing been a bit lighter, then this would be a perfect introduction to a topic that most people wouldn't know a lot about, but I do think it could do with some editing down to make it easier to read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Abbie Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very well written and structured, although I knew a lot of the stuff mentioned (my fault because I studied psychology). But if you are new to the subject then this is a concise and easy-to-read introduction into emotions and in particular anger within society.