Media, or Affect

The concept of affect—what we feel, what our bodies do and can do—is now at the center of vibrant theoretical debates. This course selectively surveys the “affective turn,” focusing on four related areas: 1) the philosophy of Baruch Spinoza and its influence today; 2) the work of Deleuzian theorist Brian Massumi, who rejects the very concepts of media and mediation; 3) developments in film theory and new media theory following from Spinoza, Deleuze and Massumi; 4) psychoanalytic accounts of affect that endeavor to reaffirm mediation, representation, and sexuation against affective immediacy. Films by Malick, Cronenberg, Resnais, and others.