Emotions as Practice in the early modern Jesuit missions in the Asia-Pacific

The project “Emotions as Practice in the early modern Jesuit missions in the Asia-Pacific” (EMOPractices) approaches the XVI-XVIII-century Asian enterprises of the Society of Jesus through the lens of emotions.

Introducing the concept of the “emotional Other” (the emotional dimension of the construct of the Other), it reveals the previously disregarded role of Jesuit emotional practices and their impact on the creation of stereotypes of peoples of the Asia-Pacific region.

EMOPractices thus analyses the emotional typologies used by the Jesuits to classify different Asian people; it identifies the emotional practices the missionaries used to bridge cultural divides and, at the same time, establish the domination of Asian people; and it exposes the mechanisms of the discursive creation of the emotional Other, as part of the changes in early modern European understanding of the world and humankind.

In this way, EMOPractices addresses the less visible historical roots of racial and ethnic stereotyping connected to discrimination, working within the H2020 Societal Challenge “Europe in a changing world.” Supported by my experience with the early modern history of the Society of Jesus in Asia and in Europe, and with their manuscript, multi-language, ethnographical literature, EMOPractices operates at the junction of history and anthropology and addresses a gap in the historiography of early modern East-West contacts.

Its expected outputs consist of two journal articles, a monograph, and a website.

It will also support my career, towards a tenured position at a European university, as the MSCA training will increase both my research and my transferable skills, allowing me to engage with wider areas of research and making my profile more competitive.

EMOPractices will also create new networks connecting the host and secondment universities (UNIVE, ACU, Tübingen), facilitating the circulation and growth of knowledge on the history of emotions both within Europe and globally.