"How societies deal with the emotions of their citizens - which ones are accepted, desired and tolerated, and which ones are forbidden - speaks to the Degree of freedom that individuals enjoy." This was the opinion of Claudia Wassmann, Marie Curie Fellow of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra, on the occasion of the international workshop 'Taking the Pulse of Our Times.Taking the Pulse of Our Times: average Therapy and Emotions', of which she is the coordinator. The activity will be held on November 21 and 22.

Dr. Wassmann stressed that emotions "are essential aspects of human nature: they determine and indicate how we relate to ourselves and to the society in which we live". Thus, she emphasized that "societies that allow the expression of emotions favor the well-being of their citizens".

In this sense, he pointed out that emotional tolerance is related to democratic states: "Democracies consider essential the possibility of living and expressing emotions without fear of repression. Authoritarian regimes do not admit any subject of disagreement".

Precisely, the international workshop that is being held these days has as goal probe what emotions characterize and shape the emotional climate of today's society through the prism of films and television programs as a starting point. It is framed in the project of research of the ICS 'Emotional culture and identity', which is financed by Zurich InsuranceIt is being carried out with the participation of historians, psychologists, sociologists, communication and film academics from the USA, UK, Canada, Germany and Spain.

Some topics: anger, management of emotions, emotional intelligence

"Films allow us to address different emotional issues in ways that we could not otherwise, for example, through a essay", said the German researcher, for whom film offers the possibility to address certain debates "that are often not present in society".

Some of the issues that will be addressed during the congress are anger, the management of emotions, emotional intelligence, the 'happy' emotions of relaxation and self-enjoyment, and emotionally charged topics such as aging, disability and death. Attention will also be given to the culture of psychotherapy.

Speakers include Peter Stearns, PhD from Harvard University and former President of George Mason University (USA); Sally Chivers, Professor of English Literature and founding executive member of the Centre for Aging and Society at Trent University (Canada); and Stella Bruzzi, Director of research of programs of study of Film and Television at the University of Warwick (UK).

Claudia Wassmann holds a PhD in Medicine from the Free University of Berlin and a PhD in History of Science from the University of Chicago (USA). high school In the United States she has developed her postdoctoral research and professional activity at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and before studying History she was Knight Science Journalism Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).