Feelings and work in modern history : emotional labour and emotions about labour /

This edited conference volume pairs gender with an emotional labor lens to deeply understand the histories of emotions and work, and rethink our understanding of emotion work as such. Arnold-Forster (postdoctoral researcher, McGill Univ.) and Moulds (independent scholar) present a diverse, well-researched set of chapters spanning geographic boundaries, cultures, and occupations. Contributing authors demonstrate both the ubiquity of emotions and the nuances of emotional labor. To name just a few examples, one article adopts a historical perspective to understand work and life separation (or the lack thereof) in 20th-century hospitals and shops, and the impact of this mixture on emotional health. In so doing, the author sheds further light on current discussions of work and family life in a COVID-19 age. Another essay on emotions and sexuality at work presents the case of "Nippy" waitresses in mid-20th-century London, problematizing the idea that the performance of emotions and gender in service work leads only to worker alienation. Contributions examine the intersections of work and emotions in a range of contexts, from Victorian England to 20th-century Argentina, including one essay focusing on the former Soviet Union. This collection makes a critical contribution to the study of work and emotions, highlighting how emotion work shapes--and is shaped by--workers, workplaces, and systems of inequality. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students and faculty. --Mary L Gatta, NACE