Does boredom have a history?
What can hunter-gatherers teach us about boredom?
Is boredom experienced differently by those in different socio-economic classes?
Is boredom a disease that is now globalized in a world of inequalities and marginalization?
Does boredom contribute to political movements, wars, terrorism, or cultural revolutions?
What does boredom have to do with power?
How do high expectations contribute to being recurrently bored?
In The Sociology of Boredom, Mariusz Finkielsztein provides a new approach to conceptualizing, interpreting, and perceiving one of the most widespread, yet neglected, human emotions. Investigating boredom at both the macro- and micro-sociological level, Finkielsztein develops an original relational-expectational theory as he explores boredom through the lenses of different social structure theories, interactionist theory, historical sociology, sociology of emotions, essentialism and constructivism, and social anthropology.
Eight in-depth chapters examine the social production of boredom in modernity and late modernity, addressing topics such as the boredom of marginalized groups, the concepts of busy boredom and consumer boredom, the characteristics and consequences of workplace boredom, the notion of smart boredom in the information society, and more.
Containing detailed analyses of the nature of boredom and its connections to various spheres of social life, The Sociology of Boredom is essential reading for advanced undergraduates, postgraduates, university lecturers, and academic researchers in sociology and similar disciplines, particularly those involved in studies on emotions or boredom studies.
Table of Contents
Illustrations xi
About the Author xii
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction: Upstream Psychological Trend 1
In Search of the Sociology of Boredom 1
Boredom as a Social Emotion 4
Defining Boredom 5
The Structure of the Book 9
References 15
1 Boredom and Modernity 19
Does Boredom Have a History? 19
Hard Essentialism 20
Soft Essentialism: Philosophy 21
Soft Essentialism: Historicism 22
Boredom as a Social Construct of Modernity 29
Disenchantment of the World: Life Without a Mythology 32
Rationalization: The Supersedure of Meaning by Function 35
Industrialization 36
Alienation 37
Institutionalization of Boredom: Bureaucracy and Education 39
Individualism: The Atrophy of Community 42
Leisure Boredom 43
Romantic Boredom 43
Anomie and Boredom 45
References 50
2 Late Modern Boredom 57
Busy Boredom 58
Acceleration and the Achievement Society 58
Social Placebos and Smart Boredom 61
Overload: Redundancy, Noise, and Inattention 64
Consumer Boredom 68
Artificial Needs 72
The Addiction to Stimuli, Novelty, and Pleasure 74
Change for Change’s Sake: Fashion 77
The Boredom Industry and the Failure of Re- enchantment 79
The Rationalization of Consumption 80
Consumer Passivity 81
The Dream- driven Society of High Expectations 82
Boredom as a Fundamental Mood of Consumerism 83
References 85
3 Boredom and Social Inequality 90
Boredom as a Class Issue 90
Boredom of the Marginalized 96
On the Margins of the Society 97
Boredom in Refugee Camps: Anomic Boredom 99
Women’s Boredom: Between Privilege and Marginalization 104
Boredom and the Capitalistic World- system 109
Peripheral Boredom. 111
Indigenous Boredom 114
References. 117
4 Workplace Boredom 122
Work as a Boring Concept 122
Unnaturalness of Work 122
Boredom and Basic Income 128
The Concept of Workplace Boredom 131
Causes of Workplace Boredom 133
Direct Causes 133
Individual Characteristics 133
Task Characteristics 135
Person- job Fit 137
Work Environment 139
Systemic Causes 139
Managerialism: Rationalization and Bureaucratization 139
Secularization of Work: Lack of Calling 141
Identity Disturbance: Anomic Work- related Boredom 144
Precarious Employment: Lack of Belonging 146
Redundant Work: Bullshit Jobs 149
Commodification of Feelings: Emotional Labour 152
Boring Occupations 153
Outcomes of Workplace Boredom 155
Empty Labour 156
Boreout, Burnout, and Boredom 157
Counterproductive Work Behaviours as Workplace Boredom Coping Strategies 158
References 161
5 Religious Boredom 171
Boredom in the Sphere of Religion 171
Boredom as a Moral Issue 171
Boredom and Religion 173
Demagification and Secularization of Religion 174
Between Disenchantment and Re- enchantment 176
Acedia 178
Church Boredom 182
References 189
6 Boredom and Social Change 194
Boredom and Social (De)Mobilization 195
Political Boredom. 198
Boredom and Violence 200
Wars 200
Terrorism 202
Revolts and Revolutions 204
Relative Deprivation and Failure of Expectations 210
References 213
7 Boredom and Utopia 217
Literary Utopias 219
Why Utopias Are Inherently Boring 219
Prohibition of Boredom 224
Preventing Utopian Boredom 225
“Real” Utopias 227
References 231
8 Interactional Boredom 233
Interactionist Approach 233
Interaction Withdrawal 233
Role Distance 235
Interactional Ritual and Anticipatory Boredom 237
Low Emotional Energy 240
Boredom and Socialization 241
Conversational Boredom: Bores 243
Boredom and Power 248
Strategic Boredom: Boredom and Social Control 252
Boredom on Display 255
Romantic Relationship Boredom 257
References 261
Conclusion: The Relational-expectational Theory of Boredom 267
Premise 1: Boredom Is a Socially- constructed Emotion 268
Premise 2: Boredom Is a Relational State 268
Premise 3: Boredom Is Caused by a Failure of Expectations 269
Premise 4: Expectation- Driven Boredom Is a Civilizational Trait 271
Premise 5: Expectations (in the Form of Desires/Dreams/Aspirations) Make the Reality Boring 271
Premise 6: Expectation- driven Boredom Is a Function of Social Comparisons 274
Premise 7: Expectations May Lead to Anticipatory Boredom 275
Remedies 276
References 281
Further Reading 285
Index 318
