Living With Feeling

Developing Emotions is a pioneering programme of lessons designed to promote emotional literacy and emotional awareness in school children. It has been developed as a collaboration between the Centre for the History of the Emotions at Queen Mary University of London and TKAT Multi-Academy Trust. In February and March 2020 the lessons were piloted in eight schools, including Napier Primary Academy in Kent. In this episode, Thomas Dixon visits Napier School and talks with teachers there about the importance of thinking about emotions in the classroom in ways that go beyond traditional PSHE approaches. The aim is to build children's confidence in using words and images for different feelings and emotions - from love and friendship to worries, tears, and laughter - through history, drama, philosophy, and art. Read more about the Developing Emotions project here: https://emotionsblog.history.qmul.ac.uk/2020/04/developing-emotions/ Register to access resources here: https://emotionslab.org/schools/register/ P

Tiffany Watt Smith looks back to 1930s London to discover what a rumbled drag ball can teach us about schadenfreude – the joy we feel in another’s misfortune. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Agnes Arnold-Forster traces the history of nostalgia, from homesick Swiss mercenaries to contemporary US politics, and examines its effects on the professional lives of healthcare practitioners working in the NHS. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Join James Morland on his journey through poetic images of loneliness, as he wanders towards its emotional meaning. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

In this episode, Ed Brooker finds surprising connections between bank holidays, Charles Darwin, and that most gluttonous of terms, happiness. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

As part of 'The Sound of Anger' series, cultural historian Fern Riddell speaks with Thomas Dixon about gender, emotions, and politics. Fern is an expert on the histories of suffragism and sexuality and the author of a biography of the radical suffragette Kitty Marion, called 'Death In Ten Minutes'. Fern and Thomas debate the meaning of 'anger', how it looks and feels, whether it is always expressed in violence, and what place it had in the suffragettes' struggle.

Do we live in an age of rage? And if so, what can we learn about our furious feelings, and how to control them, from the experiences and ideas of great thinkers in the past? Those are the questions explored in a pair of thought-provoking and darkly funny new audio dramas by playwright Craig Baxter, commissioned by the Living With Feeling project at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for the History of the Emotions, and directed and produced by Natalie Steed. SENECA ANNOYED is a philosophical tragicomedy about emotions and ideas set in ancient Rome. When the order comes to him from Emperor Nero that he kill himself, the Stoic philosopher Seneca determines to dispatch himself in a calm and dignified manner. He hasn’t counted, though, on the frailty of his own body, the incompetence of his friends, or the blind fury of his wife, Paulina. CAST: Seneca is played by Adam Kotz, Paulina by Jasmine Hyde, and Fabius by Geoffrey Streatfeild. The centurion is Michael Bertenshaw. Produced and directed by Natal

Historian of emotions Thomas Dixon completes his personal odyssey through the history, feelings, and meanings of angry emotions. In this episode, he asks whether domestic, everyday anger is the same thing as political anger, and wonders about the relationship between angry dads, angry protesters, and emotional health. Thomas hates his own anger and dreams of a world with no anger, but learns reasons that others see it as politically essential. Backstage at the 2019 Free Thinking Festival in Sage Gateshead, Thomas talks to Matthew Dodd of BBC Radio 3 about being an angry dad, and hears from Professor Kehinde Andrews about the importance of anger for Malcolm X. In a conversation about male privilege, sexual violence, and political anger, Thomas is guided by Dr Fern Riddell towards evidence of the fury and violence of suffragettes in the 1910s. Neuroscientist Sarah Garfinkel talks about the possibility of protesting without angry emotions, and Thomas ends up pondering whether disagreements about the necessi

Historian of emotions Thomas Dixon continues his exploration of angry emotions. In this episodes he tries to discover how anger sounds, feels, and looks. Again, diversity seems to be the norm. Different bodies feel furious in different ways, and not all cultures have the same ways of expressing emotions. Thomas hears from opera singer Lore Lixenberg, political journalist Jo-Anne Nadler, and historians Imke Rajamani and Fern Riddell. He also introduces listeners to one of his favourite books about anger, by anthropologist Jean Briggs. Contributors: Laura Rosenthal, Lore Lixenberg, Jo-Anne Nadler, Charlotte Rose Millar, Jerry Parrott, Imke Rajamani, Matthew Dodd, Sarah Garfinkel, Jim Russell, Fern Riddell, The Voice of Jean L Briggs: Karina Fernandez Extracts used with permission from Never in Anger: Portrait of an Eskimo Family by Jean L. Briggs, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, Copyright © 1970 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Presenter: Thomas Dixon Producer: Natalie Steed

As part of 'The Sound of Anger' series, psychologist Jim Russell is in conversation with historian of emotions Thomas Dixon about the idea of "anger" and basic emotions. Jim is an internationally recognised expert on the psychology of emotions and explains Paul Ekman's ideas about 'basic emotions' and the problems with the theory, especially in relation to facial expressions.

Do we live in an age of rage? And if so, what can we learn about our furious feelings, and how to control them, from the experiences and ideas of great thinkers in the past? Those are the questions explored in a pair of thought-provoking and darkly funny new audio dramas by playwright Craig Baxter, commissioned by the Living With Feeling project at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for the History of the Emotions, and directed and produced by Natalie Steed. In DARWIN VEXED, Charles Darwin elicits the help of his love-struck daughter Henrietta, her dog Polly and flamboyant photographer Oscar Rejlander to put the finishing touches to his latest book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). The challenge for them all is how to capture and control their powerful but fleeting emotions. CAST: Charles Darwin is played by Michael Bertenshaw, Henrietta by Jasmine Hyde, Oscar Rejlander by Geoffrey Streatfeild, and his wife Mary by Karina Fernandez. And introducing Olly as Polly, Henrietta

In this opening episode of a new podcast series about anger from the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions, historian of emotions Thomas Dixon sets out to discover what anger really is. He meets experts including psychologists and historians, and confronts his own furious demons, in an attempt to find an answer. Is there a "basic emotion" of anger or only a range of loosely related furious feelings? What can science tell us? Does anything hold together all the varieties of rage, wrath and revenge? Contributors include Lore Lixenberg, Matthew Dodd, Jo Anne Nadler, Sarah Garfinkel, Charlotte Rose Millar, Kehinde Andrews, Jim Russell and Jerry Parrott. Presenter: Thomas Dixon Producer: Natalie Steed

This is a recording of a May 2019 panel discussion at Queen Mary, University of London, on the question 'should universities teach well-being?' There is, apparently, a mental health crisis in higher education. Student referrals for counselling are soaring, and according to one study, 40% of PhDs are depressed or anxious. Students in Bristol took to the streets to demand better mental health services, while the universities minister declared the purpose of universities should no longer just be knowledge, but also well-being. What are universities' responsibilities in this area? What should students expect and demand? Can universities teach wellbeing, and what is the role of the arts and humanities in this endeavour? Panelists: Dr Tiffany Watt Smith, QMUL Drama (Chair) Shamima Akter, QMSU Vice President Welfare Prof Kam Bhui, QMUL Head of Centre for Psychiatry and Deputy Director of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Barts and The London Jules Evans, QMUL Centre for the History of Emotions Kevi

Historian Jane Mackelworth thinks about the place of gifts in loving relationships, including romantic partnerships between women. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

In this episode, historian Evelien Lemmens asks what a 'gut feeling' might be and explores Victorian worries about emotions and indigestion. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Historian of emotions Edgar Gerrard Hughes reflects on the ways that sounds, or silence, could express grief and mourning, especially in the nineteenth century. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Discover some of the surprising meanings of 'ecstasy' with philosopher and emotional explorer Jules Evans. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Richard Firth-Godbehere talks about the psychology of modern 'disgust' and ask what light history can shed on this emotion. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Sarah Chaney talks about the history of assumptions made about nursing, gender, and the emotions of care. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.

Historian David Saunders talks about his research into the science and experience of anxiety in the twentieth century. This is one of a series of short podcasts exploring what we do at the Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions.