Saving the modern Soul : Therapy, emotions and the culture of self-help Eva Illouz The language of psychology is all-pervasive in American culture--from The Sopranos to Oprah, from the abundance of self-help books to the private consulting room, and from the support group to the magazine advice column. Saving the Modern Soul examines the profound impact of therapeutic discourse on our lives and on our contemporary notions of identity. Drawing on theoretical discussion in sociology, psychology, anthropology, and economics as well as popular materials like advice books and interviews, Eva Illouz plumbs today's particular cultural moment to understand how and why psychology has secured its place at the core of modern identity. Eva Illouz is Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a member of the Center for the Study of Rationality, and the Academic Director of the program in Cultural Studies. She is the author of Consuming the Romantic Utopia: Love and the Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (UC Press; Honorable mention, Outstanding Contribution Award, ASA, 2000); The Culture of Capitalism(in Hebrew); Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery: An Essay on Popular Culture (Best Book Award, ASA, 2005); and Cold Intimacies: The Making of Emotional Capitalism