ENGLISH

Satire and the Public Emotions

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2019
ISBN
9781108798839, 9781108869263
DOI
10.1017/9781108869263
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (2767203 bytes)
Series
Elements in Histories of Emotions and the Senses
Pages
\84
Time added
2025-03-30 16:06:21

Description

The dream of political satire – to fearlessly speak truth to power – is not matched by its actual effects. This Element explores the role of satirical communication in licensing public expression of harsh emotions defined in neuroscience as the CAD (Contempt, Anger, Disgust) triad. The mobilisation of these emotions is a fundamental distinction between satirical and comic laughter. Phiddian pursues this argument particularly through an account of Jonathan Swift and his contemporaries. They played a crucial role in the early eighteenth century to make space in the public sphere for intemperate dissent, an essential condition of free political expression.

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