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Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem

Ashley Frawley Orcid Logo

Swansea University Author: Ashley Frawley Orcid Logo

Abstract

The Semiotics of Happiness is a research monograph examining the rise of happiness (and its various satellite terminologies) as a social and political issue, exploring its origins in the US and subsequent spread into the UK and across the globe. The research takes as its starting point the developme...

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ISBN: 9781472523716 9781472523303
Published: London Bloomsbury Academic 2015
Online Access: http://bloomsbury.com/uk/semiotics-of-happiness-9781472523716/
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa21486
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spelling 2022-02-09T13:23:59.9089523 v2 21486 2015-05-18 Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem 9279d7a34ced689e04eb6bdc56e74a64 0000-0002-4691-4612 Ashley Frawley Ashley Frawley true false 2015-05-18 CSSP The Semiotics of Happiness is a research monograph examining the rise of happiness (and its various satellite terminologies) as a social and political issue, exploring its origins in the US and subsequent spread into the UK and across the globe. The research takes as its starting point the development of discussions about happiness in UK newspapers in which dedicated advocates began to claim that a new science of happiness had been discovered and argued for social and political change on its behalf. Through an in-depth analysis of the rhetoric and activities of these influential ‘claims-makers’, I argue that happiness became a serious political issue not because of a growing unhappiness in society nor a demand ‘on the ground’ for new knowledge about it, but rather because influential and dedicated ‘insiders’ took the issue on at a cultural moment when problems cast in emotional terms were particularly likely to make an impact. Emerging from the analysis is the observation that, while apparently positive and light-hearted, the concern with happiness implicitly affirms a ‘vulnerability’ model of human functioning, encourages a morality of low expectations, and in spite of the radical language used to describe it, is ultimately conservative and ideally suited to an era of ‘no alternative’ (to capitalism). Monograph Bloomsbury Academic London 9781472523716 9781472523303 Happiness, Well-being, Social problems, Semiotics, Rhetoric, Emotion, Language arts and disciplines linguistics semantics, Sociolinguistics, Semiology 26 2 2015 2015-02-26 http://bloomsbury.com/uk/semiotics-of-happiness-9781472523716/ COLLEGE NANME Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy COLLEGE CODE CSSP Swansea University 2022-02-09T13:23:59.9089523 2015-05-18T13:10:29.9450069 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health and Social Care - Public Health Ashley Frawley 0000-0002-4691-4612 1
title Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem
spellingShingle Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem
Ashley Frawley
title_short Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem
title_full Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem
title_fullStr Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem
title_full_unstemmed Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem
title_sort Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem
author_id_str_mv 9279d7a34ced689e04eb6bdc56e74a64
author_id_fullname_str_mv 9279d7a34ced689e04eb6bdc56e74a64_***_Ashley Frawley
author Ashley Frawley
author2 Ashley Frawley
format Monograph
publishDate 2015
institution Swansea University
isbn 9781472523716
9781472523303
publisher Bloomsbury Academic
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str School of Health and Social Care - Public Health{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Health and Social Care - Public Health
url http://bloomsbury.com/uk/semiotics-of-happiness-9781472523716/
document_store_str 0
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description The Semiotics of Happiness is a research monograph examining the rise of happiness (and its various satellite terminologies) as a social and political issue, exploring its origins in the US and subsequent spread into the UK and across the globe. The research takes as its starting point the development of discussions about happiness in UK newspapers in which dedicated advocates began to claim that a new science of happiness had been discovered and argued for social and political change on its behalf. Through an in-depth analysis of the rhetoric and activities of these influential ‘claims-makers’, I argue that happiness became a serious political issue not because of a growing unhappiness in society nor a demand ‘on the ground’ for new knowledge about it, but rather because influential and dedicated ‘insiders’ took the issue on at a cultural moment when problems cast in emotional terms were particularly likely to make an impact. Emerging from the analysis is the observation that, while apparently positive and light-hearted, the concern with happiness implicitly affirms a ‘vulnerability’ model of human functioning, encourages a morality of low expectations, and in spite of the radical language used to describe it, is ultimately conservative and ideally suited to an era of ‘no alternative’ (to capitalism).
published_date 2015-02-26T03:25:30Z
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score 11.012924

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