https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/17614 Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:53:32 GMT 2026-04-29T04:53:32Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/18365 A Social Relational Account of Affect Scheve, Christian von Sociology usually conceives of emotions as individual, episodic, and categorical phenomena, while at the same time emphasizing their social and cultural construction. In this article, I argue that this view neglects some essential elements of emotions, in particular affects, and how these are vital to our understanding of sociality. Although affect is an established notion in sociology, it has remained conceptually underdeveloped. The article therefore discusses different perspectives on affect from the vibrant field of affect studies that emphasize their relational and bodily character. In a second step, I contrast and reconcile these views with existing theories of affect in sociology and social psychology and consider a number of essential characteristics that can be used to circumscribe affect. Finally, I introduce concepts from relational sociology and concrete examples to specify the relational character of affect and to develop an understanding of affect that is both theoretically and empirically fruitful. Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/18365 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/47562 Affective Dynamics in #MyBodyMyChoice Memetic Performances on TikTok Lünenborg, Margreth; Backes, Annabella The overturning of Roe v. Wade and the repeal of Germany’s abortion advertisement ban in June 2022 represent a momentous shift in the global landscape of reproductive rights, amplifying contentious debates around bodily autonomy and women’s rights. Feminist activism, traditionally rooted in body politics, has adapted to digital platforms, utilising their affordances to mobilise around socio-political issues such as abortion rights. This paper investigates the affective dynamics, i.e., intensities and registers, of feminist digital activism through the lens of affect theory and feminist media studies, with a focus on the #mybodymychoice TikTok challenge. We examine how TikTok’s algorithmically driven, viral structure shapes the affective intensity of the challenge; and introduce the concept of affective registers to analyse how the platform’s multimodal affordances foster distinct types of memetic performances that privilege certain forms of feminist digital activism. Our findings reveal how affective registers of joy, anger, shock, and solidarity circulate within the challenge, fuelling wide, intense, but ephemeral mobilisation while also exposing the risks of political dilution. Through our typology of affective registers, we examine the tension between popular feminist performances of “happy feminism”—where joy and personal empowerment prevail—and more confrontational forms of “killjoy feminist activism,” shedding light on the potential and limitations of feminist activism on TikTok and the platform’s ability to foster affective solidarity while also commodifying affect and constraining sustained political impact. Thus, this study exemplarily delineates the broader dynamics and contours of contemporary feminist digital activism, illustrating how playful, intimate, and vivid memetic performances both amplify and reshape feminist activism in digitally networked societies. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/47562 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19490 Affective Societies - A Glossary Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/19490 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/21827 Affekte als sozial-relationales Phänomen medialer Kommunikation Lünenborg, Margreth; Maier, Tanja; Töpper, Claudia Zentrales Anliegen des Beitrags ist es, Affekttheorien für die empirische Anwendung in der Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft nutzbar zu machen. Dazu stellen wir zunächst zentra-le Stränge der Emotionsforschung in der Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung sowie der Medi-entextanalyse dar, klären die von ihnen verwendeten Begriffe und machen ihre Bezüge zur Af-fektforschung deutlich. Daran anschließend führen wir knapp in aktuelle affekttheoretische An-sätze ein, beginnend mit einer Rekonstruktion früher Auseinandersetzungen in den Cultural Stu-dies, und entwickeln schließlich ein Analysemodell, mit dem Affekte als sozial-relationale Phä-nomene der Medienkommunikation empirisch analysiert werden können. Zur Exemplifizierung beziehen wir uns primär auf das Medium Fernsehen als einem Modus audiovisueller Kommuni-kation. Diese Betrachtung erlaubt jedoch auch weiterführende Überlegungen zur Bedeutung affektiver Dynamiken zwischen Medientechnologien, -texten und ihren Nutzer_innen.; This article focuses on affect theories and their relevance for communication and media studies. Relying on the strength and potential of the different ‚affective turns’, we develop an empirical approach to analyze affect as a relational phenomenon within media communication. To begin with, we introduce key concepts of emotion in audience and reception studies and in textual media analyses. Thereby, we try to clarify their central understanding of emotion and affect and explain their reference to contemporary affect theory. Introducing central strands of current affect theory, we develop an analytical approach to be used for empirical studies of affect in communication and media studies. Our considerations will be exemplified by the case of television. Nevertheless, the analytical approach provides the possibility for further reflections on the significance of affective dynamics within audiovisual media. We argue for an understanding of the affective dynamics of current media saturated societies. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/21827 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z