Emotion and Media

Peter N. Stearns

Prospectus

I will examine the connections between media and emotion, using examples of recent changes in American emotional  response that seem clearly to relate to shifts in the nature of media and media policy. I will also offer some discussion of the way earlier generations’ emotional responses were shaped by media of the day. Finally, I will discuss overarching trends in the history of the emotions and examine how a new attention to media may influence the future of the field.