The importance of emotions in Mexican cultural history
When studying the colonial period and major events of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries in Mexico, the focus has primarily been economic, social, political and cultural in nature. Emotions as a motivating factor in forming social interactions in the Mexican context have not received attention. From a sociological perspective, emotions bind people together and can also divide people. With that in mind, the EU-funded project MEXTEARS (Tears in Mexico: A cultural history of emotions and motivations) examined how this takes place. Desk-based research was combined with work in Mexico's principal archives. This included reading the history and theory of the emotions produced over roughly the past 20 years as well as Mexican cultural history. A single-authored book, 'Crying Games in Mexico: 1520-2012', was the main result of MEXTEARS work. It focuses on epiphenomenal moments of public weeping by key historical figures as a means of framing and encompassing its exploration of the social compact. The work will contribute both to Mexican cultural history and to the history and theory of emotions, supporting new thinking in both areas.
Keywords
Emotions, cultural history, Mexican history, MEXTEARS, motivations, public weeping
