Madalena d'Oliveira-Martins, Ph. high school of Culture and Society (ICS) at the University of Navarra, has begun a six-month research stay at the department of Sociology at the University of Berkeley. University of Berkeley (USA).

During this period she worked with Arlie Russell Hochschild, one of the pioneers in the field of the sociology of emotions, a branch of the social sciences that was born at the end of the 20th century. Precisely, Madalena's thesis deals with sociological reflexivity and the sociology of emotions in the thinking of this expert.

"Starting from that approach -she points out-, this author deals with essential themes of contemporary society, such as the contradictions of modernity, the change of the economic status of women, the female conciliation of home and work, and the balance between the private and the public".

Human identity and authenticity

"I'm going to make her reflect on what she has said in her work," he explains. "I will try to make a constructive criticism of the themes she covers, to see to what extent she has contributed to a discussion that gets it right in the diagnosis of what modernity is and also to see where its limits are." He also adds that these questions have to do with the identity of the human being and his authenticity, two elements closely related to the ICS' project 'Emotional culture and identity', in which he is researching.

After these months in the U.S., Madalena D'Oliveira-Martins will return to Pamplona to finish her thesis , directed by Professor Lourdes Flamarique and carried out in the framework of the project 'Emotional culture and identity' of the ICS, sponsored by Zurich Insurance.