Modernism and Affect

This book addresses an under-researched area of modernist studies, reconsidering modernist attitudes towards feeling in the light of the humanities’ turn to affect. The eleven original chapters and chapter-length introduction consider the affective dimensions of a range of forms and media – including literature, architecture, philosophy, dance, visual art, and design – tracing modernism from its origins in the nineteenth-century to its afterlives in the postwar period. Modernism and Affect engages with contemporary theories of affect but also turns to a surprisingly wide range of theoretical models – including psychoanalysis, phenomenology, critical theory and poststructuralism – as it emphasises the complexities of modernist affect and emotion.

• Presents 11 original essays by international scholars exploring the relationships between modernism and affect
• Offers a multi- and interdisciplinary approach to modernist studies
• Challenges the assumption that modernism is marked by a lack of interest in the emotions
• Outlines influential theories of affect for scholars and students of modernist studies