What part does emotion play in contemporary culture? It's a question that crops up endlessly in modern Britain, from the response to the death of Princess Diana and on to the current morbid interest in the plight of Jade Goody.
Now journalists and academics from various disciplines are to spend two years studying the place of emotion and therapy in popular culture. Run from Roehampton University, it will involve academics, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and media figures.
Dr Caroline Bainbridge, the principal investigator, says: "The media age bombards us with references to our feelings at all turns, whether we're watching the latest episode of Mad Men, listening to Desert Island Discs or following the decline of Jade Goody – feeling is everything."
If you want to know more, or to get involved, go to the Media and the Inner World website.
