Networked Affect

by Ken Hillis (editor), Susanna Paasonen (Editor), Michael Petit (Editor)

Our encounters with websites, avatars, videos, mobile apps, discussion forums, GIFs, and nonhuman intelligent agents allow us to experience sensations of connectivity, interest, desire, and attachment -- as well as detachment, boredom, fear, and shame. Some affective online encounters may arouse complex, contradictory feelings that resist dualistic distinctions. In this book, leading scholars examine the fluctuating and altering dynamics of affect that give shape to online connections and disconnections. Doing so, they tie issues of circulation and connectivity to theorizations of networked affect. Their diverse investigations -- considering subjects that range from online sexual dynamics to the liveliness of computer code -- demonstrate the value of affect theories for Internet studies.

The contributors investigate networked affect in terms of "intensity, sensation, " and "value." They explore online intensities that range from Tumblr practices in LGBTQ communities to visceral reactions to animated avatars; examine the affective materiality of software in such platforms as steampunk culture and nonprofit altporn; and analyze the ascription of value to online activities including the GTD ("getting things done") movement and the accumulation of personal digital materials.

ContributorsJames Ash, Alex Cho, Jodi Dean, Melissa Gregg, Ken Hillis, Kylie Jarrett, Tero Karppi, Stephen Maddison, Susanna Paasonen, Jussi Parikka, Michael Petit, Jennifer Pybus, Jenny Sunden, Veronika Tzankova "

280 pages, Hardcover

First published February 13, 2015

Reviews

[Laurel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite my interest in digital culture, I found most of the academic articles in this collection uninteresting. I doubt many people will take my path and read this collection cover-to-cover, rather access articles that they might find useful in their own academic work. There were a couple of pieces that dealt with affect and social networking in the section on "value" that I found interesting, otherwise, I leave the rest of the articles to those scholars who specialize in the study of affect and the human condition.