Humiliation

This volume theorizes the concept of humiliation, which is endemic to social life and survives in different forms, depending upon the nature of the social context. It is perpetuated through asymmetries of intersecting sets of attitudes-arrogance and obeisance, self-respect and servility, and reverence and repulsion. With definition of humiliation as one of their central concerns, the essays in the volume unfold its meaning by juxtaposing it with concepts like shame, disgust, discrimination, degradation, and segregation. The complex and multiple meanings and practices of humiliation are presented within an interdisciplinary framework, incorporating constructs from history, sociology, psychology, and political theory, and could thus help expand the meaning of other concepts like justice, equality, and nationalism. The essays also suggest that it is the socio-cultural context that decides the nature, level, and intensity of humiliation. This cultural specificity provides a vantage point that could be used to develop a comparative perspective on humiliation.