Editorial

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THIS PAPER EXPLORES THE ANOMALOUS ROLE THAT TODAY’S SOCIAL MEDIA ENVIRONMENTS PLAY IN THE DYNAMICS OF AFFECTIVE AMPLIFICATION THROUGH VIRAL VISUAL CONTENT. AFFECTED BY THE POST 9/11 LOGIC OF MEDIA SECURITIZATION, THE CIRCULATION OF MANIPULATED IMAGES AND INTERNET MEMES HAS CREATED AN ATMOSPHERE OF CONTROVERSIAL SENTIMENTS AND IRRATIONAL FACTS. THE PREVALENT EXPERIENCE OF DISORIENTATION THAT PERPETUATES ITSELF IN THESE RELATIONS FEEDS ON THE EVERYDAY MICRO-ANTICIPATIONS OF CLAIM AND COUNTERCLAIM, MAKING THE DOUBLE BINARY OF FACT AND FICTION, SOURCE AND ADAPTATION IMPOSSIBLE TO SUSTAIN. AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, THE DISCUSSION WILL FOCUS ON HOW THE VIRAL SPREAD OF ONE PARTICULAR IMAGE DURING THE REFUGEE CRISIS HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE EMERGENCE OF THE ISSUE OF ‘TERRORIST REFUGEES’. EXPLORING THE INFRASTRUCTURES OF MEDIA ALERT BEHIND THIS ISSUE, I ADDRESS THE RE- AND PREMEDIATING FORCES AT PLAY IN THE CIRCULATION OF THE IMAGE AS FAKETUAL. RATHER THAN RELYING ON THE AVAILABILITY OF VALID SOURCES, NETWORKED FORMATIONS OF FAKETUALITY FEEL TRUE EVEN THEY ARE KNOWN TO BE FABRICATED. I DEVELOP THIS ARGUMENT BY ADAPTING DIGITAL METHODS TO REFLECT ON THE SHIFTS IN CONTROVERSIAL RELATIONS OF RELEVANCE/VISIBILITY AS THEY UNFOLD THROUGH OUR EVERYDAY ENCOUNTERS WITH SEARCH ENGINES, ONLINE NEWS MEDIA, AND SOCIAL PLATFORMS.
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Between Bullshit and Faketuality

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AS A POLITICIAN WHO BECAME FAMOUS FOR BEING ANOTHER POLITICIAN’S WIFE, HILLARY CLINTON HAS LONG BEEN A LIGHTNING ROD FOR AMERICAN FEARS (AND HOPES) ABOUT THE STATE OF GENDER. ALTHOUGH MOST COMMENTATORS AGREE THAT SHE HAS BEEN HATED UBIQUITOUSLY SINCE 1992, SCHOLARSHIP ON HILLARY-HATING ALMOST ALWAYS CONSIDERS IT A MALE IMPULSE. THIS PAPER ASKS WHY RIGHT-WING AMERICAN FEMINISTS HATE HILLARY CLINTON. THE AUTHOR STUDIED “WOMEN FOR TRUMP” FACEBOOK PAGES, FOCUSING ON MEMES THAT PRESENT THE PRO-CHOICE CLINTON AS A MONSTROUS (ANTI-)MOTHER. HATRED OF CLINTON IS NOT PRODUCED BY ‘REASONABLE’ PUBLIC DEBATE, THIS PAPER ARGUES; MORE IMPORTANT ARE THE POTENT AFFECTIVE CHARGES CLINTON’S IMAGE CARRIES. A ‘MEMETIC’ ANALYSIS IS USED TO LOOK AT THE AFFECTIVE OBJECT-NESS OF CLINTON’S IMAGE: WHERE IT TRAVELS, WITH WHAT IMPETUS, AND WHAT RESPONSES IT PROVOKES. AFFECT PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN BOTH SHARING MEMES ONLINE AND THE WORKINGS OF MISOGYNY AND RACISM IN RIGHT-WING WOMEN’S PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.
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Hillary-Hating

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IN THIS PAPER, I DISCUSS THE AFFECTIVE POTENTIAL OF LAUGHTER IN THE HUGELY POPULAR COMEDY PODCAST SERIES; THE GUILTY FEMINIST. SPECIFICALLY, I EXPLORE HOW THE SOUNDS OF LAUGHTER – AS DISSEMINATED BY THE PODCAST – CAN LEAD TO EXPLOSIONS OF EMOTION IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE; SETTING THE BODY IN MOTION AND LEADING TO NEW WAYS OF THINKING, FEELING AND BEING. WHILE THESE PUBLIC EXPLOSIONS OF EMOTION CAN BE TRANSGRESSIVE, I POSTULATE THAT THEY CAN ALSO RELIEVE SOME OF THE TENSION CREATED BY THE NEGATIVE AFFECTS SWIRLING AROUND FEMINISM, WHICH, ACCORDING TO AHMED, “IS ALWAYS ASSUMED TO BE BRINGING OTHERS DOWN” (AHMED, 2010:65). USING GUATTARI’S IDEAS ON THE PRODUCTION OF SUBJECTIVATION, I ARGUE THAT THESE EXPLOSIONS CAN INTENSIFY THE EMERGENCE OF A GLOBAL, INTERSECTIONAL FEMINIST COMMUNITY, PROVOKING A CONSIDERATION OF HOW PODCASTS SUCH AS THE GUILTY FEMINIST COULD EXTEND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND ONLINE ACTIVISM WITHIN CONTEMPORARY FEMINISMS.
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The Guilty Feminist Army

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TO UNDERSTAND THE INTRICATE INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN POLITICS AND AFFECTS, I EXAMINE A PERFORMANCE OF THE BERLIN-BASED ARTIST COLLECTIVE ZENTRUM FÜR POLITISCHE SCHÖNHEIT (CENTER FOR POLITICAL BEAUTY, ZPS), IN WHICH ARTIST ACTIVISTS STAGED A HORSEBACK RIDE TO FASTEN A MANIFESTO OF TEN THESES OF POLITICAL BEAUTY ON THE FAÇADE OF THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG. INTERCONNECTING THEORIES OF POLITICAL DIFFERENCE (MARCHART 2010), WHICH DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE ONTOLOGICAL REALM OF ‘THE POLITICAL’ AND ONTIC REALIZATIONS OF ‘POLITICS’, AND POLITICAL THEORIES OF AFFECT, I APPROACH THE AFFECTIVE DIMENSIONS OF POLITICAL DIFFERENCE AS AFFECTIVE POLITICS. BUILDING ON BARGETZ’S (2014) “POLITICAL GRAMMAR OF FEELINGS”, I SITUATE THE PERFORMANCE’S TEMPORARY INSTITUTIONS AND INTERRUPTIONS OF ‘POLITICS’ AND ‘THE POLITICAL’, AS WELL AS ‘FEELING POLITICS’ AND ‘POLITICS OF FEELING’ RESPECTIVELY, AS AFFECTIVE ENCOUNTERS TO EXPERIENCE OR ENACT POLITICAL BEAUTY. POLITICAL BEAUTY, IN AN ANTAGONISTIC FRAMEWORK THAT FOREGROUNDS CONTINGENCY, CONFLICT AND ABSENCE, MOBILIZES AFFECTS AS INHERENTLY AMBIVALENT AND CONTENTIOUS. AS A CHALLENGE TO THE DIAGNOSIS OF AN INEVITABLE POST-POLITICAL CONDITION, I DISCUSS THE POTENTIAL OF POLITICAL BEAUTY AS AFFECTIVE POLITICS TO POTENTIALLY RE-POLITICIZE POLITICS. BORROWING FROM DERRIDA (1994), I CONDUCT A SPECTRAL READING OF ZPS’ TEN THESES AND CARVE OUT THREE ANALYTICAL VIGNETTES – BEAUTY, VITALITY AND LONGING – TO CONCEPTUALIZE POLITICAL BEAUTY AS OSCILLATING BETWEEN THE DESIRE AND HOPE FOR POLITICAL CHANGE, WHICH CAN NEVER BE FULLY SATISFIED, AND A DISMISSAL OF (POLITICAL) UGLINESS AND DEATH. IN THE END, POLITICAL BEAUTY ESCAPES A DEFINITION BECAUSE IT IS, AFTER ALL, NOTHING BUT AN IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT FOR POLITICS AND AFFECTS OF AN UNKNOWN FUTURE.
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Exploring the Affective Politics of Political Beauty

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SINCE THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY, THERE HAS BEEN A GROWING NUMBER OF ALLIANCES BETWEEN SOCIAL ART AND SO-CALLED INTERNATIONAL ‘DEVELOPMENT’ COOPERATION AND NGO WORK. SCHOLARS MOSTLY DISCUSS SUCH ALLIANCES FROM A PERSPECTIVE THAT EXPECTS ART PROJECTS TO RESULT IN CONCLUSIVE EFFECTS. THIS PAPER ARGUES THAT SUCH AN EFFECT-ORIENTED PERSPECTIVE IS BASED ON A REDUCTIVE NOTION OF ART AND THAT IT FAILS TO NOTICE THE SELF-CRITICAL PRINCIPLES THAT SOCIAL ART CONTRIBUTES TO THE FIELD OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. BASED ON A DETAILED DISCUSSION OF THE CONTINUING PROJECT OFF/LINE: WHAT CAN ART DO IN ZEMO NIKOZI? (SINCE 2016), WHICH INVITES ARTISTS TO WORK IN THE FRAMING OF A LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT FOR CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION IN THE SHIDA KARTLI REGION OF GEORGIA, THIS PAPER PRESENTS CONCRETE PROCESSES OF SOCIAL ART AND DIFFERENTIATES THEM ACCORDING TO HOW THEY RELATE TO THE IMPLEMENTATION CONTEXT. ON THIS BASIS, THE PAPER CONCEPTUALIZES SOCIAL ART PRACTICES AS PROCESS-ORIENTED SPACES OF ENCOUNTER, AND DRAWS CONCLUSIONS ON A DISCURSIVE LOGIC THAT COMPLEMENTS THE EFFECT-ORIENTED DISCOURSE.
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Towards a Logic of Encounter

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CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL POLICY PROMOTES THE VALUE OF PARTICIPATORY PRACTICES, INCLUDING PARTICIPATORY ART. HOWEVER, THIS EMPHASIS RENDERS CULTURAL POLICY SUBJECT TO THE ART COMMUNITY’S WIDESPREAD AND GENERALIZED SUSPICION THAT GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES INSTRUMENTALIZE ARTISTIC PRACTICES TO SERVE PURPOSES OTHER THAN THOSE PURSUED BY ARTISTS THEMSELVES. THIS ARTICLE ADDRESSES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARTICIPATORY ART, PARTICIPATORY CULTURE AND CULTURAL POLICY, FOCUSING IN PARTICULAR ON NOTIONS OF ARTISTIC AUTONOMY. SPECIFICALLY, THE ARTICLE USES ORGANIZATION THEORY’S DISCUSSION OF FREEDOM IN WORK TO FRAME ART THEORY’S SUSTAINED, ALBEIT DIFFERENTLY CONCEPTUALIZED, PREOCCUPATION WITH NOTIONS OF ARTISTIC AUTONOMY IN RESPECT TO THE BUREAUCRATIC ORGANIZATION OF LIFE IN MODERNITY. EMPIRICALLY, THE ARTICLE ANALYSES AN INSPIRATIONAL CATALOGUE THAT PROMOTES THE USE OF PARTICIPATORY ART AND CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT IN PUBLIC ART PROJECTS AS A WAY OF CHALLENGING THE ART COMMUNITY’S GENERALIZED SUSPICION, WHILE ALSO SUGGESTING THAT DANISH ARTS POLICY IS RENEGOTIATING THE ROLE OF ART IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CONTEMPORARY OPPORTUNITIES FOR SEIZING ARTISTIC FREEDOM. CONTEMPORARY PARTICIPATORY CULTURE, IT IS ARGUED, CONDITIONS AS WELL AS PROMOTES ARTISTIC PRACTICE, THUS GENERATING NEW ARTISTIC POSSIBILITIES, ALTHOUGH ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT ARTISTS ENGAGE IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING THOSE AFFECTING CULTURAL POLICY.
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Between ‘Freedom as Autonomy’ and ‘Freedom as Potentiality’

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THE CONCEPT OF CULTURAL PARTICIPATION IS SELDOM DEFINED IN POLICY BUT CARRIES A POSITIVE CONNOTATION. THE AIM OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW PARTICIPATION IS MADE MEANINGFUL BY POLICY STAKEHOLDERS, EXEMPLIFIED BY A SWEDISH MUNICIPALITY, WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION DIRECTED TOWARDS TWO CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS WORKING TO ENHANCE YOUNG PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION. THE ANALYSIS CONSIDERED LEVELS OF INTEREST IN PARTICIPATION, FROM THE POLICY LEVEL, MANAGERIAL LEVEL AND CIVIL SERVANT LEVEL. THE ANALYSIS FOUND THE MEANING OF PARTICIPATION SHIFTED FROM A FOCUS ON EQUAL ACCESS TO EMPOWERING YOUNG PEOPLE AS A MARGINALISED GROUP, MIRRORING THEORIES OF A SHIFT FROM A CULTURAL DEMOCRATISATION PARADIGM TO A CULTURAL DEMOCRACY PARADIGM IN CULTURAL POLICY. THE CIVIL SERVANTS SHARED AN UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO DISTRIBUTE POWER FROM ADULTS TO YOUNG PEOPLE, BUT THE OVERLAP OF THE TWO PARADIGMS IN THE GOAL OF ACHIEVING PARTICIPATION RESULTED IN TENSIONS AND PARADOXES REGARDING THE ISSUE OF NEGOTIATING POWER.
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Equal Access or Empowerment?

Book Review: Nico Carpentier, the Discursive-Material Knot: Cyprus in Conflict and Community Media Participation New York: Peter Lang, 2017, 471 Pages

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 11 (2024): Issue 1 (March 2024)

Volume 10 (2023): Issue 1 (October 2023)

Volume 9 (2022): Issue 2 (October 2022)

Volume 9 (2022): Issue 1 (June 2022)

Volume 8 (2021): Issue 1 (January 2021) Health, Media and Participation

Volume 7 (2020): Issue 2 (October 2020) Failures in Cultural Participation

Volume 7 (2020): Issue 1 (July 2020) Feminism, Gender, Social Movements and Everyday Resistance

Volume 6 (2019): Issue 1 (December 2019) Cultural Participation, Social Media Affect and Art

Volume 5 (2018): Issue 1 (May 2018) Community and Creative Research. Developing Participatory Methodologies

Volume 4 (2017): Issue 1 (December 2017) Playful Participation II

Volume 3 (2016): Issue 1 (June 2016) Playful Participation

Volume 2 (2015): Issue 2 (December 2015) Participation across Institutional and Disciplinary Boundaries

Volume 2 (2015): Issue 1 (October 2015) Mediatized Cultural Activism

Volume 1 (2014): Issue 1 (November 2014) Participatory Cultural Citizenship

Conjunctions

Conjunctions seeks to create an international and transdisciplinary forum for the investigation of user-generated cultural production, user-driven cultural participation and citizen involvement across a variety of social fields, contexts and practices, e.g. urban spaces, (digital) media, social media platforms, education and teaching, the cultural sector and creative industries, aesthetic productions and museums, health institutions, activism and design.  The overall focus of the journal is to explore the socially transformative and democratic potential of cultural participation processes, to qualify the academic understanding of what ‘participation’ is and what it involves, and to discuss the complex relations created between user-generated processes and established institutions and discourses.  We take an interest in critical analyses of participatory practices, rhetoric and involvement strategies, in affirmative investigations of participation, in explorations of explicit or conscious and implicit or non-conscious forms of participation.  Submitted articles can be focused on theoretical development or on empirical analysis (of e.g. case studies). We also welcome work that use innovative or creative methods as well as more traditional methods.  The journal invites submissions from a variety of disciplinary fields such as media and communication studies, cultural studies, interaction and participatory design, cultural geography, education, aesthetics, science and technology studies, health care, health communication, information science, sociology, anthropology, development studies and gender studies.  The journal is published twice every year.  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 

Volume 6 (2019): Issue 1 (December 2019) - Cultural Participation, Social Media Affect and Art