{"product_id":"semiotics-of-happiness-rhetorical-beginnings-of-a-public-problem-9781350004764","title":"Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Ashley Frawley\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Linguistics - Semantics\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Semiotics of Happiness \u003c\/i\u003eexamines the rise of 'happiness' (and its various satellite terminologies) as a social and political semiotic, exploring its origins in the US and subsequent spread into the UK and across the globe. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe research takes as its starting point the development of discussions about happiness in UK newspapers in which dedicated advocates began to claim that a new 'science of happiness' had been discovered and argued for social and political change on its behalf. Through an in-depth analysis of the written and visual rhetoric and subsequent activities of these influential 'claims-makers', Frawley argues that happiness became a serious political issue not because of a growing unhappiness in society nor a demand 'on the ground' for new knowledge about it, but rather because influential and dedicated 'insiders' took the issue on at a cultural moment when problems cast in emotional terms were particularly likely to make an impact. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eEmerging from the analysis is the observation that, while apparently positive and light-hearted, the concern with happiness implicitly affirms a 'vulnerability' model of human functioning, encourages a morality of low expectations, and in spite of the radical language used to describe it, is ultimately conservative and ideally suited to an era of 'no alternative' (to capitalism).","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":45086258430103,"sku":"9781350004764","price":4973.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9781350004764.webp?v=1767142936","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/semiotics-of-happiness-rhetorical-beginnings-of-a-public-problem-9781350004764","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}