1. Introduction 2. Psychological Basics PART I: THE AGRICULTURAL AGE 3. Early Agricultural Society 4. From the Philosophers: Happiness in the Classical Period 5. From the Great Religions: Happiness – and Hope? 6. Popular Pleasures PART II: THE HAPPINESS REVOLUTION, 1700-1900 7. The Happiness Revolution in the West 8. The Expansion of Happiness? The New Expectations Encounter Industrial Society 9. Global Developments in the 18th and 19th Centuries PART III: HAPPINESS IN CONTEMPORARY WORLD HISTORY 10. Disputed Happiness, 1920-1945 11. Communist Happiness 12. Comparing Happiness in Contemporary Societies 13. Western Society in Contemporary History: Even Happier? 14. Happiness Goes Global 15. Conclusion
Biography
Peter N. Stearns is University Professor of History at George Mason University, USA. He has written widely both in world history and in the growing field of the history of emotions, and regularly teaches courses in both areas.
"Peter Stearns brings to bear in this compact volume his long and pioneering engagement with the history of emotions and his unsurpassed ability to synthesize vast amounts of information from different fields. The result is a bold and thought-provoking effort to extend research on the history of happiness to the global scale."
Darrin M. McMahon, Professor of History, Dartmouth College, USA, and author of Happiness: A History
