Everything is Noise: Don Delillo’s White Noise and the Affectivity of Media, Religion, and Divination

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-174
Author(s):  
Eric Chalfant
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
White Noise ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Spiritual Meaning ◽  
Friedrich Kittler ◽  
Warren Weaver

This paper provides a theoretical defense of the concept of noise, borrowed and loosened from the field of information theory, as a heuristic tool for discussing mediation as divination and exploring the intersection of media studies and religious studies. I first provide a theoretical primer for the concept of noise as it is articulated by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver and developed in media studies by Friedrich Kittler and in religious studies by Mark Taylor. Then, a close reading of Don Delillo’s White Noise draws out the potential of noise to highlight media’s ability to provide spiritual meaning and truth through an affect of divination. Finally, I connect these themes to current conceptions of media’s relationship to truth as well as recent anthropology on religious divination, suggesting the utility of noise to aid in scholarly efforts to materialize both media studies and religious studies as they engage with affect theory.

When Is a Religion Like a Weed?

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 10-18
Author(s):  
Nathan Rein
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Study ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Focus Attention ◽  
The Way

Caroline Schaffalitzky de Muckadell's 2014 article, "On Essentialism and Real Definitions of Religion," offers a comprehensive rationale for the use of real, essentialist definitions of religion in the field of religious studies. In this article, I examine her arguments and the proposed definition she supplies. I argue that a close reading of Schaffalitzky's piece, concentrating especially on the way she uses examples, helps to demonstrate that she and her anti-essentialist opponents view the field of religious studies in incommensurable ways. While Schaffalitzky views definitions as serving the analytical study of religion as an object, her opponents view definitions primarily rhetorically and seek to focus attention on the process of defining.

scholarly journals “Celebration of the Body”: Marshall McLuhan and the Sensory Conceptualism of N.E. Thing Co. Ltd.

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Lauder
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Art ◽  
The Body ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Marshall Mcluhan ◽  
Friedrich Kittler ◽  
Artist's Book ◽  
Livre D'artiste

Through a close reading of the 1976 artist’s book and exhibition catalogue “Celebration of the Body,” the N.E. Thing Co. Ltd.’s pioneering representations of the body’s “informationalization” are situated within the conceptual company’s creative reworking of Marshall McLuhan’s sensory media theories. In turn, McLuhan’s thought is located within a genealogy of physiological aesthetics that troubles conventional narratives of Conceptual art as a movement defined by its engagement with theories of cognition, language, and systems. Friedrich Kittler’s analysis of modernism as reflecting the decomposition of the body under a regime of psychophysical experimentation provides the framework for this article’s re-evaluation of the Toronto School theorist and his influence on the foundational Vancouver-based “critical company.”En utilisant une lecture attentive du livre d’artiste et catalogue d’exposition « Celebration of the Body », 1979, les représentations du corps numérisé de N.E. Thing Co. sont encadrées dans le remaniement créatif des théories médiatique de Marshall McLuhan entreprit par la compagnie.  À leurs tours, les pensées de McLuhan sont placées dans une généalogie d’esthétique physiologique qui dérange les récits conventionnels de l’art conceptuel comme étant un mouvement défini par son engagement avec les théories de la cognition et du langage. L’analyse de Friedrich Kittler de modernisme comme réflexion de la décomposition du corps effectuée par des expériences psychophysique fournit le cadre pour cette réévaluation du théoricien de l’École de Toronto et son impact sur la « compagnie critique » fondatrice de Vancouver.

On the transmodality of signs and their interpretants: Evidence from Peirce’s MS 599, Reason’s Rules

Semiotica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (228) ◽  
pp. 223-235
Author(s):  
Winfried Nöth
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Communicative Process ◽  
External Sign ◽  
The One ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe paper begins with a survey of the state of the art in multimodal research, an international trend in applied semiotics, linguistics, and media studies, and goes on to compare its approach to verbal and nonverbal signs to Charles S. Peirce’s approach to signs and their classification. The author introduces the concept of transmodality to characterize the way in which Peirce’s classification of signs reflects the modes of multimodality research and argues that Peirce’s classification of the signs takes modes and modalities in two different respects into consideration, (1) from the perspective of the sign and (2) from the one of its interpretant. While current research in multimodality has its focus on the (external) sign in a communicative process, Peirce considers additionally the multimodality of the interpretants, i.e., the mental icons and indexical scenarios evoked in the interpreters’ minds. The paper illustrates and comments on the Peircean method of studying the multi and transmodality of signs in an analysis of Peirce’s close reading of Luke 19:30 in MS 599, Reason’s Rules, of c. 1902. As a sign, this text is “monomodal” insofar as it consists of printed words only. The study shows in which respects the interpretants of this text evince trans and multimodality.

scholarly journals Self-organization of meaning and the reflexive communication of information

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loet Leydesdorff ◽  
Alexander M. Petersen ◽  
Inga Ivanova
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
Vector Space ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Knowledge Based Economy ◽  
Local Reduction ◽  
Warren Weaver

Following a suggestion from Warren Weaver, we extend the Shannon model of communication piecemeal into a complex systems model in which communication is differentiated both vertically and horizontally. This model enables us to bridge the divide between Niklas Luhmann’s theory of the self-organization of meaning in communications and empirical research using information theory. First, we distinguish between communication relations and correlations among patterns of relations. The correlations span a vector space in which relations are positioned and can be provided with meaning. Second, positions provide reflexive perspectives. Whereas the different meanings are integrated locally, each instantiation opens global perspectives – ‘horizons of meaning’ – along eigenvectors of the communication matrix. These next-order codifications of meaning can be expected to generate redundancies when interacting in instantiations. Increases in redundancy indicate new options and can be measured as local reduction of prevailing uncertainty (in bits). The systemic generation of new options can be considered as a hallmark of the knowledge-based economy.

scholarly journals The Turn to Affect and Emotion in Media Studies

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margreth Lünenborg ◽  
Tanja Maier
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Affect Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Central Interest ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Media And Communication

This editorial delivers an introduction to the thematic <em>Media and Communication </em>issue on “The Turn to Affect and Emotion in Media Studies”. The social and cultural formation of affect and emotion has been of central interest to social science-based emotion research as well as to affect studies, which are mainly grounded in cultural studies. Media and communication scholars, in turn, have especially focused on how emotion and affect are produced by media, the way they are communicated through media, and the forms of emotion audiences develop during the use of media. Distinguishing theoretical lines of emotion theory in social sciences and diverse traditions of affect theory, we reflect on the need to engage more deeply with affect and emotion as driving forces in contemporary media and society. This thematic issue aims to add to ongoing affect studies research and to existing emotion research within media studies. A special emphasis will be placed on exploring structures of difference and power produced in and by media in relation to affect and emotion.

scholarly journals Leikitäänkö kampaajaa? Digitaalinen koskettaminen ASMR-roolileikkivideoissa

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 26-45
Author(s):  
Riikka Turtiainen
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Hand Movements ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Play Theory ◽  
Physical Play ◽  
Tingling Sensation ◽  
Auto Ethnography ◽  
Bodily Knowledge

ASMR on lyhenne sanoista Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Ilmiöllä tarkoitetaan erilaisten aistiärsykkeiden eli triggereiden aikaansaamia, tahdosta riippumattomia, miellyttäviä ja rauhoittavia aistielämyksiä. Joillakin ihmisillä nämä ääni- ja visuaaliset ärsykkeet (lähikuiskaukset, naputtelut, rapistelut ja hitaat käsiliikkeet) aiheuttavat ”kylmien väreiden” kaltaista kihelmöintiä, jonka kuvataan kulkeutuvan pään takaosasta selkärankaa pitkin muualle kehoon. Tässä artikkelissa analysoin YouTubessa viime vuosina suosituiksi muodostuneita ASMR-roolileikkivideoita, joissa vloggaajat ovat tarinallistaneet triggereiden tuottamisen esittäessään esimerkiksi kampaajia, kosmetologeja ja lääkäreitä. Olen kiinnostunut siitä, miten näissä ASMR-roolileikkivideoissa luodaan koskettamisen illuusio. ASMR-videoita on tutkittu terapeuttisina teknologioina sekä affektiteorioihin ja haptiseen mediatutkimukseen tukeutuen. Itse asetan ilmiön leikintutkimuksen viitekehykseen tarkoituksenani osoittaa, että videot on mahdollista nähdä fyysisen leikin digitaalisena ilmenemismuotona. Analysoin videoita niiden lähiluennalla, mutta tutkimuksessani voi nähdä myös piirteitä auto- ja aistietnografisesta lähestymistavasta. Analyysini perusteella digitaalisen kosketuksen voi ASMR-roolileikkivideoiden kohdalla nähdä muodostuvan aistien synestesian, kehollisen tietämisen ja mielikuvituksen yhteisvaikutuksesta.   Let’s play hairdressers? Digital touch in ASMR role play videos ASMR is an acronym for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, which is an autonomous, pleasurable and calming feeling accompanied by a tingling sensation that begins on the scalp and moves down the back of the neck and spine. It is caused by specific auditory or visual stimuli, which are called triggers (close whispering, tapping, rustling, and slow hand movements). In this article, I analyse the popular video category of ASMR role plays in YouTube. In these role play videos vloggers are performing triggers for instance as haidressers, cosmetologists, and doctors. I am interested in finding out how they are creating an illusion of touch. ASMR videos have been studied as therapeutic technologies and in the context of affect theories and haptic media studies. By applying play theory to understandings of ASMR role plays, my aim is to point out that they can be seen as a digital manifestation of physical play. My methodological approach consists of close reading of the videos but I have also utilized auto-ethnography as sensory participation. According to my analysis, the digital touch consists of synaesthesia, bodily knowledge, and imagination.

Believing in Bits

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Religious Studies ◽  
Mind Reading ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Digital Media Studies ◽  
Theoretical Standpoint

Situated at the theoretical interface between the fields of media studies and religious studies, Believing in Bits advances the idea that religious beliefs and practices are inextricably linked to the functioning of digital media. Digital media—conceived as technologies and artifacts, as well as the systems of knowledge and values shaping our interaction with them—cannot be analyzed outside the system of beliefs and performative rituals that inform and prepare their use. How did we come to associate things such as mind reading and spirit communications with the functioning of digital technologies? Does the dignity accorded to the human and natural worlds within traditional religions translate to gadgets, avatars, or robots? How does the internet’s capacity to facilitate the proliferation of beliefs help blur the boundaries between what is considered fictional and factual? The chapters in this volume address these and similar questions, challenging and redefining established understandings of digital media and culture by employing the notions of belief, religion, and the supernatural. From a theoretical standpoint, this book relies on two different approaches that complement each other: a media archaeological approach that looks at the continuities and at the subtle relationships between earlier media histories and the contemporary landscape, and a perspective informed by digital media studies that takes into account the technical and social specificities of digital technologies.

Debatte: Medienwissenschaft ohne Medien | Medienwissenschaft ohne Medien? vs. Postmedial

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2020) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Pias ◽  
Katrin Peters
Keyword(s):  
Media Studies ◽  
Digital Humanities ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Time Semantics ◽  
The Media ◽  
Post Colonialism ◽  
The Impact

Der Beitrag von Claus Pias geht von zwei Beobachtungen aus: einem Zurücktreten des Medienbegriffs innerhalb medienwissenschaftlicher Forschung und eines Desinteresses sogenannter ›Digitalisierung‹ ihr gegenüber. Er untersucht, inwiefern Medientheorie (von McLuhan und Kittler bis zu den sogenannten Digital Humanities) durch einen starken Medienbegriff an der Herausbildung von Zeitsemantiken und Narrativen von ›Digitalisierung‹ beteiligt war und von ihnen profitiert hat. Als Konsequenz fordert Pias zu medienwissenschaftlicher Grundlagenforschung auf, die mit einer strategischen Revision und Aktualisierung von ›Medien‹ als Begriff und Gegenstand einhergeht. Der Beitrag von Kathrin Peters stimmt mit dieser Lagebeschreibung nur teilweise überein. Die Skepsis gegenüber den Zukunfts- und Dringlichkeitsrhetoriken gegenwärtiger Digitalisierungsoffensiven wird von ihr geteilt, dass allerdings vor allem eine Medienwissenschaft des ›medientechnischen a priori‹ eine Antwort auf den gegenwarts- und an- wendungsfixierten Digitalisierungsdiskurs liefern könnte, erscheint Peters als zu kurz gegriffen. Andere medienwissenschaftliche Ausrichtungen sind dazu ebenso in der Lage: medienwissenschaftliche Analysen zu Kolonialität und Postkolonialität, feministische, gen- der- und queertheoretische Fragestellungen, eine medienwissenschaftlich informiert Wissenschaftsforschung und Affekttheorie – um nur einige zu nennen. Es geht um Konzepte von Medienwissenschaft als Fragestellung, die ihre Gegenstände in den verschiedensten Bereichen hervorbringen, dabei aber zugleich als Mittel und Mittler immer wieder unsichtbar werden. Debate: Media Studies without Media Claus Pias’ article starts out from two points of observation: a recession of the term media within the field of media studies and a dis- interest of the so-called digitalization in this particular term. Pias examines the impact media theory (ranging from McLuhan and Kittler to the so-called Digital Humanities) had on the development of time semantics and the narratives of ›digitalization‹ due to the use of a strong media term, and how media theory profited from it. mAs a result, Pias calls for establishing basis research in media studies, going hand in hand with a strategic revision and update of media, as a term as well as a subject. In her article, Kathrin Peters only partially agrees with this evaluation. She shares the scepticism concerning future-rhetoric as well as priority-rhetoric, both featuring heavily in current digital offensives; however, in her opinion it is not enough to hope for answers on today’s digitalization-discourse from media studies hailing the media-technical a priori. There are other approaches in media studies which are able to offer these answers: analysis of colonialism and post-colonialism, feministic, gender- and queer-theoretical questions, a media-informed science of knowledge and affect theory, just to name a few of them. It is all about concepts of media science being perceived as problems which bring forth their own subjects in various areas of research, yet as a tool as well as an intermediary, they are frequently overlooked.

Relative Lust: Accidental Incest’s Affective and Legal Resonances

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 806-825
Author(s):  
Lara Karaian
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Intimate Relationship ◽  
Public Service Announcements ◽  
The Body ◽  
Boundary Violations ◽  
Reparative Reading ◽  
Kinship Relations

This article explores the intimate relationship between the body, sexuality, technology, popular culture, and incest law. I examine the nature, meaning, and affective resonances of representations of consensual incest, “accidental incest,” and “technology facilitated accidental incest” in popular culture, pornography, and public service announcements. Drawing on a pastiche of affect theory; cultural and media studies theories of human-technological relations; queer, feminist and cultural posthumanist theories of embodiment, subjectivity and sexuality; and, Eve Sedgwick’s notion of a “reparative reading” I consider how these experiences and representations expand our emotional and erotic desires and alter our perceptions of our bodies’ parameters, their “proper” sexual objects and kinship relations, and their boundary violations. I argue that these affective residues pose a challenge to the “logic” underpinning the taboo’s intransigence, thus potentially contributing to the destigmatization and decriminalization of consensual adult incestuous relations.

Brahms's "Wiegenlied" and the Maternal Voice

2005 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Bottge
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Gilles Deleuze ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Critical Comparison ◽  
Friedrich Kittler ◽  
Mother And Child ◽  
Maternal Voice ◽  
Mother’S Voice ◽  
Musical Context

Brahms's familiar "Wiegenlied" op. 49, no. 4 (1868) is emblematic of numerous nineteenth-century compositions that sonorously enact idealized images of the mother and child. Its back and forth harmonic movement imitates the phenomenal sensation of rocking, and its interlocking syncopations support and interact with the emotive declamation of the singer's voice. Because its musical features are so easily accessible, the "Wiegenlied" has escaped music-analytical attention, its deceptive simplicity seemingly transparent to our music-theoretical gaze. Yet, certain aspects of this music render our familiar analytical or critical strategies inadequate for explaining the intuitions we have about it, aspects that suggest tracing their connections within a broader cultural and musical context. My discussion of the lullaby draws from a number of cultural theorists--among them Friedrich Kittler, Michel Chion, Gilles DeLeuze, F&#x8f;lix Guattari, and Theodor W. Adorno--to theorize the power of the mother's voice (la voix maternelle) in forming lifelong vocal and musical connections. I provide a close reading of Alexander Baumann's "S'is Anderscht" (1842), the Austrian vocal duet that inspired Brahms's composition of the lullaby, and a critical comparison of it with the lullaby. Finally, after uncovering latent etymological sources of several key words in the lullaby's text, I offer a hermeneutic re-reading of the poem, one that ultimately undermines our casual assumptions of this simple childhood song.

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