“Not to be made happy is to refuse the promise of this conversion. Not to cheer is to withdraw from the situation. Not being in the mood for happiness becomes a political action. And you know what: I am not in the mood.” – Sara Ahmed, “Too Much and Not in the Mood” 

“I laughed a little. I didn’t mean to, but unsure of what kind of face I should be making, I started laughing, in an odd way that betrayed the fact that I was used to living my life in a daze, without giving anything much thought.” Meiko Kawakami All the Lovers in the Night

Our contemporary literary moment is marked by narrators who are misattuned to the world around them. Awkwardly aloof and not thrilled to be anywhere, these characters’ detachment baffles those around them and upsets the affective atmosphere such that they become what Ahmed would call “an obstacle to attunement” or an “affect alien.” These characters are not distinguished by loud heroic protest, but rather by more subtle acts of resistance, refusal, and withdrawal. Those marked by race or gender are particularly susceptible to this misalignment given the heightened expectations that they perform sentimentality, affability, and other pro-social affects, and subject to even greater blowback when they refuse. 

Not returning a text. Not laughing at the joke. Allowing silence to linger. Not asking questions. Leaning out rather than in. All perceived forms of breaking a kind of intimacy; seen as refusing to participate or killing the vibe. 

This panel asks where we find these recalcitrant characters, encouraging participants to reflect on the following: 

• What is the relationship between the prevalence of flat or unexpressive narrators and neoliberal culture?

• What is the role of expression in sociality? What are the features of antisociality in fiction?

• How do the aesthetics of digital culture dovetail with the affective experience of navigating these spaces?

• How does the connection between affect and national sentiment/nationalism play out in fiction, and is there a gendered or racialized dimension to this?

• Are killjoys always feminist? 

Please submit a 250 word abstract and short bio by March 21 using the conference platform located here: https://asap16.exordo.com/panels/50/contribute/0a1358745ee6a549bf917ef18fbb9b4e1e6121d7