MEXTEARS · Tears in Mexico: A Cultural History of Emotions and Motivations

This project will open up new horizons for the study of Mexican history and culture by bringing analytical approaches from research on the history and theory of the emotions to bear on key questions concerning the configuration of the social compact. The project objectives are:(1) To develop a new approach to Mexican history and culture based on an analysis of emblematic instances of public weeping as a richly expressive mode of emotional display that can illuminate how the emotions work and do things;(2) To make a contribution to the emerging cross-cultural, comparative field of research on emotions through the prism of Mexico;(3) To build a team of researchers dedicated to the cross cultural study of the emotions in relation to Europe’s colonial legacies.The objectives will be achieved through a sustained period of research and training at Mexico’s premier Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), working alongside leading scholars in the field, and drawing on the unrivalled resources available there, leading to the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, and competencies, which will be transferred back to the European Union. In turn, this will enable a decisive and long-term advance in career development, and ultimately contribute to enhance ERA research excellence.