Affect theory

This chapter reviews important publications in affect theory from 2016. This chapter is divided into the following sections: 1. Introduction; 2. Moving Beyond Emotions to Affective Phenomenology, which focuses on Obstruction (Nick Salvato); 3. Environmental Affect, which focuses on Mirror Affect (Cristina Albu) and Ambient Media (Paul Roquet); 4. Gesture, which focuses on ‘Touching the Button’ (Lindsay Reckson), The Minor Gesture (Erin Manning) and Gestures of Testimony (Michael Richardson); 5. Reflections. In publications this year, there has been a significant interest in intersubjective and interpersonal affect which relates to the phenomena of shared emotions as well as the politics of affect in the emergence of studies of gesture. Since this is the inaugural chapter on affect theory for YWCCT, the opening introductory section offers a note on the rise of this dynamic and evolving field