Video Content
Check out some hand-picked audio/visual content that relates to Literature and Emotion!
CONTEXT
The Limbic System
A quick description of the limbic system — the primary “seat” of emotion in the brain — by Science ABC.
Time: 5.5 minutes
CONTEXT
Emotional Manipulation
A short video that explains how media and online content is designed to subliminally play on your feelings (especially negative ones) to get you to pay attention. This is the power — and the danger — of advertising! ENGL 171LE is invested in helping each other to become more sensitive to “emotional” language in everyday situations so that you can be aware of manipulation tactics like these online.
Time: 2 minutes
Week 1
Antonio Damasio: “When Emotions Make Better Decisions”
A brief overview of key points from Damasio’s Descartes’ Error (1994) by the author himself.
Time: 3 minutes
Week 1
Lisa Feldman Barrett: “How emotions work”
Neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett addresses some key myths about emotion, explains in a simple way how emotions work in the brain, addressing both conscious and unconscious emotion, and even explains the difference between feelings and emotions.
Her summary here about emotion connects several key ideas from multiple readings during the first week of the course. If you’re not sure you’re getting everything about emotion from the neuroscience perspective, try listening to Lisa!
Time: 10 minutes
Week 2
Thomas Nagel: “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?”
Free audiobook of Thomas Nagel’s complete “What Is It Like to Be a Bat?” (1974).
You can also listen to a 6-minute summary and analysis of Nagel’s essay by Professor Tom Polger to make sure you understand the text.
Time: 37 minutes
Week 2
Artin Salimi: “Sara Ahmed — The Cultural Politics of Emotion”
Episode 6 of Salimi’s series Philosophy Instrumentals, which illustrates key concepts about political rhetoric and emotion from Sara Ahmed’s The Cultural Politics of Emotion (2004).
Please be advised that this video features selections of text on screen and is not ideal for audio listeners.
Time: 7 minutes
Week 2
Hamlet (1948)
Full Hamlet (1948) film starring Laurence Olivier as Hamlet. For a more detailed analysis on this particular adaptation and some specific passages from the text, please refer to our Week 2 blog post comparing Hamlet performances.
Highly recommended for first-time readers! You can also refer to this humorous summary video as supplement.
Time: 2.5 hours
Week 4
William Blake: Songs of Innocence and Experience
A reading of Blake’s collected edition of Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794) by Sam Stinson. Timestamps for the individual poems can be found in the top comment for this video, but here are the ones assigned for class:
The Lamb - 2:47
The Little Black Boy - 3:39
The Chimney Sweeper - 5:46
London - 34:34
Time: 7 minutes
Week 4
William Wordsworth: “Tintern Abbey”
A reading of Wordsworth’s “Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey” (1800) by Twilight and Good Omens actor Michael Sheen.
Before or after this reading, you might also consider Mark Knockemus’ 8-minute video explaining the significance of the collection that “Tintern Abbey” appears in, Lyrical Ballads.
Time: 9 minutes
Week 4
Percy Shelley: “Mont Blanc”
A reading of all stanzas of Shelley’s “Mont Blanc” (1817) by Poems Cafe.
Time: 10 minutes
Week 5
Lewis Waller: “Metaphors We Live By: Lakoff and Johnson”
An explanation of key concepts from George Lakoff and Mark Johnson’s influential book Metaphors We Live By (1980).
Time: 12 minutes
Week 5
James Pennebaker: “The Secret Life of Pronouns” at TEDxAustin
James Pennebaker’s TED talk that accompanies his book The Secret Life of Pronouns (2011) and summarizes his research on function words.
Time: 18 minutes
Week 5
Shirley Tung: “Lady Mary Wortley Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters”
A brief history of Lady Mary Worlety Montagu’s Turkish Embassy Letters. There is no actual analysis of any of the letters in this video, but it provides good context for our discussion!
Time: 5 minutes
Week 5
Lord Hume: “The Story Of Ignatius Sancho”
A brief history of Charles Ignatius Sancho. There is no actual analysis of any of his letters in this video, but it provides good context for our discussion!
I also recommend looking into Paterson Joseph’s original work Sancho: An Act of Remembrance.
Time: 4 minutes
Week 5
Khadija Mbowe: “Emotional Intelligence, racial stereotypes, & the politics of emotional expression”
An exploration of Dr. Marc Brackett’s Permission to Feel (2019) and a systematic look at emotional expectations rooted in race, related to our discussions of the letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Charles Ignatius Sancho, as well as Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You (2014).
Week 5
Cathy Park Hong: Minor Feelings
A Yale University discussion with Cathy Park Hong about her book Minor Feelings. This video goes well with Mbowe’s discussion of racialized feelings!
Time: 1 hour
Week 6
Virginia Woolf: To the Lighthouse (1927)
Free audiobook of Virginia Woolf’s complete novel To the Lighthouse (1927). This reading is in two parts, and the second part is linked in the video description. Timestamps for individual chapters can also be found in the top comments on this video.
EXTRA for fun
UNHhhh: Episode 184, “Emotions”
Drag performers Trixie Mattel and Katya Zamolodchikova discuss the topic of “Emotions” for their web series UNHhhh.
Advisory warning for language and adult content. You can also read “Why We Cry” (2016) by Mandy Oaklander to supplement Trixie’s question in this video.
Time: 12 minutes
EXTRA for fun
Emotion Support: Richard Davidson
WIRED Autocomplete Interview with neuroscientist Richard Davidson. Does stress shrink your brain? Are women more emotional than men? Does botox make you less empathetic? Find out the answers to these and other odd emotion questions from an expert.
Time: 20 minutes