Semiotics of Happiness

<p><i>The Semiotics of Happiness </i>examines 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. <p/>The 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. <p/>Emerging 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).</p>