Reading and Writing Affect

Reading and Writing Affect is a monthly reading group and writing workshop that offers a thorough overview of the current field of affect theory and related discourses such as trauma studies and phenomenology. The study of emotions is a rapidly growing field of interest across a number of disciplines, including literary studies, geography, philosophy, biology, neuroscience, genetics, sociology, psychology, and cultural anthropology. 

The diversity of our reading selections and membership fosters interdisciplinary conversations and approaches across these areas. Our readings, discussions, and activities theorize the production and expression of affect in terms of reading both literary forms and socio-cultural contexts. Additionally, our writing workshops provide a space of support and feedback for those who are experimenting with affect-related methodologies, and/or with more embodied affective or autobiographical styles of writing, both academic and creative.