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Arlie Russell Hochschild Books

2 books·~20 min total read

Arlie Russell Hochschild is an American sociologist and professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her pioneering work on the sociology of emotion, gender, and contemporary American culture, including influential books such as 'The Managed Heart' and 'The Second Shift.

Known for: Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling

Key Insights from Arlie Russell Hochschild

1

The Great Paradox of Self-Interest

A society becomes hard to understand when people appear to vote against their own material interests. Hochschild begins with what she calls the Great Paradox: why do residents of Louisiana, a state scarred by pollution, weak public services, and economic instability, often oppose environmental regul...

From Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

2

Louisiana as an Emotional Field Site

Place is never just geography; it is a living emotional world. Hochschild chose Louisiana not simply because it was politically conservative, but because it concentrated many of the contradictions she wanted to study. It was home to rich natural beauty, strong local culture, evangelical faith, petro...

From Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

3

The Deep Story Beneath Politics

Facts persuade less than stories when those stories explain who we are. One of Hochschild’s most influential ideas is the “deep story,” a narrative that feels true emotionally even if it is not a literal statement of events. A deep story strips away facts and arguments and reveals the emotional logi...

From Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

4

The Line-Cutting Metaphor and Resentment

Resentment often begins not with hatred, but with the feeling of being bypassed. Hochschild’s most memorable image is the line-cutting metaphor embedded in the conservative deep story. Imagine yourself waiting in a long line toward the American Dream: stability, respect, security, and recognition. Y...

From Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

5

Faith, Community, and Moral Order

Political beliefs are rarely isolated opinions; they are woven into communities of meaning. In Louisiana, Hochschild found that church life, family networks, and local moral codes helped shape how people interpreted government, work, sexuality, obligation, and suffering. Religion was not merely a pr...

From Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

6

Pollution, Industry, and Felt Betrayal

Environmental harm is easier to condemn in theory than in a town built around the jobs causing it. One of the book’s sharpest insights is that people living in heavily polluted areas do not necessarily become environmental activists. In Louisiana’s bayou and petrochemical corridor, residents often s...

From Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right

About Arlie Russell Hochschild

Arlie Russell Hochschild is an American sociologist and professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her pioneering work on the sociology of emotion, gender, and contemporary American culture, including influential books such as 'The Managed Heart' and 'The Second Sh...

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Arlie Russell Hochschild is an American sociologist and professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her pioneering work on the sociology of emotion, gender, and contemporary American culture, including influential books such as 'The Managed Heart' and 'The Second Shift.'

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Arlie Russell Hochschild is an American sociologist and professor emerita at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her pioneering work on the sociology of emotion, gender, and contemporary American culture, including influential books such as 'The Managed Heart' and 'The Second Shift.

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