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Paper short abstract:

The dynamic ontology of atmospheres makes them a challenge to research. This paper will use the notion of affect to produce a methodology for investigating atmosphere and reconceiving our notion of the public sphere.

Paper long abstract:

During the evening rush hour on the 25th March 2018 hordes of panicked commuters bolted from the exit of the Milan metro station Conciliazione, handkerchiefs to mouths, faces winced shut. Fearing an explosion, they crowded the escalators to street level. Police, ambulances and fire trucks arrived while a train worker and newsagent were shuttled off to hospital by complaining of a burning sensation in their throats. Conciliazione was shut down and new passengers turned away. Yet the mysterious odour appeared to have no source. The police and a team of nuclear bacteriologists found no fire, hazardous substances, mechanical breakdown or track friction. The train line reopened less than an hour later. A team examined video surveillance footage, in case the panicked stampede was caused by a 'bad joke'. As this team discovered, the dynamic ontology of atmospheres makes them a challenge to investigate. Their properties, light, temperature, and even odour are ethereal, indeterminate. As Böhme claims, 'we are not sure whether we should attribute them to the objects or environments from which they proceed or to the subjects who experience them' (Böhme 1993, 114). It is this experience which allows us to recognise atmospheres subjectively: bad smells, a gentle breeze, a harsh sun without shade. This paper proposes use of the concept of affect to investigate the experience of atmosphere and a reconnected public sphere.