Shame

Shame, one of the fundamental emotions in the development of civilization, has recently begun to reclaim the critical attention it deserves. Increasingly attributed since the Enlightenment to more primitive societies, shame nevertheless remains a powerful element in many spheres of Western life-from penal and educational systems, where it acts as a regulating force, to popular culture, where the shame of others becomes a source of entertainment. Cabinetissue 31, with a themed section on Shame, co-edited with Aleksandra Wagner, investigates the history of this affect and its role in Modern and contemporary culture. The issue features Wagner on the post-Enlightenment history of shame; an interview with Paul Ekman on the facial expressions associated with shame; Renata Salecl on choosing a coffin for a dead relative; a genealogy of the distinction between shame cultures and guilt cultures; an exploration of shaming mechanisms and social control; and artist projects by Amy Cutler and Daniel Joseph Martinez. Elsewhere in the issue: Saul Anton on eighteenth-century libertines; Allen S. Weiss on sake cups and Japanese aesthetic philosophy; artist projects by David Levine and Cara Phillips; and the debut of D. Graham Burnett's column, Peripheral Vision.