Paper short abstract:

Through insights from Greece, I propose a theorization of vertigo as means to capture the intense temporal disorientation brought about by life in crisis.

Paper long abstract:

I propose 'vertigo' as a theory to capture the intense temporal disorientation brought about by life in crisis. In the whirlpool of unforeseen social change, people experience confusion as to where and when they belong on timelines of previously unquestioned pasts and futures. Through individual stories from Greece, I explore the everyday affects of vertigo: nausea, dizziness, breathlessness, the sense of falling, and unknowingness of Self. Being lost in time, caught in the spin-cycle of crisis, people reflect on belonging to modern Europe, neoliberal promises of economic progression, defeated futures, and the existential dilemmas of life held captive in the uncanny elsewhen. Insights from de Martino, Runia, and Kierkegaard, among others, help to unpack vertigo as affective orientation.