Home / Series / TED Talks / Aired Order / Season 2017 / Episode 283

Tiffany Watt Smith: The history of human emotions

The words we use to describe our emotions affect how we feel, says historian Tiffany Watt Smith, and they've often changed (sometimes very dramatically) in response to new cultural expectations and ideas. Take nostalgia, for instance: first defined in 1688 as an illness and considered deadly, today it's seen as a much less serious affliction. In this fascinating talk about the history of emotions, learn more about how the language we use to describe how we feel continues to evolve -- and pick up some new words used in different cultures to capture those fleeting feelings in words.

English
  • Originally Aired December 18, 2017
  • Runtime 15 minutes
  • Content Rating United States of America TV-PG
  • Production Code TiffanyWattSmith_2017S
  • Network YouTube
  • Created March 28, 2019 by
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  • Modified March 28, 2019 by
    Administrator admin
Name Type Role
Tiffany Watt Smith Guest Star