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Sociology and the virtual: interactive mirrors, representational thinking and intensive power

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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Sociology and the virtual: interactive mirrors, representational thinking and intensive power. / Coleman, Rebecca.
In: The Sociological Review, Vol. 61, No. 1, 02.2013, p. 1-20.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Coleman, R 2013, 'Sociology and the virtual: interactive mirrors, representational thinking and intensive power', The Sociological Review, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.12002

APA

Coleman, R. (2013). Sociology and the virtual: interactive mirrors, representational thinking and intensive power. The Sociological Review, 61(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.12002

Vancouver

Coleman R. Sociology and the virtual: interactive mirrors, representational thinking and intensive power. The Sociological Review. 2013 Feb;61(1):1-20. doi: 10.1111/1467-954X.12002

Author

Coleman, Rebecca. / Sociology and the virtual : interactive mirrors, representational thinking and intensive power. In: The Sociological Review. 2013 ; Vol. 61, No. 1. pp. 1-20.

Bibtex

@article{48b2bb2c57ef41aeaec1f636582216dc,
title = "Sociology and the virtual: interactive mirrors, representational thinking and intensive power",
abstract = "This article explores the role of images in the workings of contemporary power. It examines one of the central ways in which sociology has approached images as representations and proposes an alternative understanding of images through the concepts of interactivity, intensity and the virtual. Focusing on the examples of three interactive mirrors, one a piece of artwork, another designed to be located in a designer shop and the other a medical mirror for tracking {\textquoteleft}vital signs{\textquoteright}, it suggests that the mirrors emphasize the screen and, in so doing, disrupt a notion of images of representations. Images are instead brought to life; intensively experienced rather than extensively read. The article engages, first, with the increasing prevalence of screens and, second, with the moves in sociology towards theorising the value of the concept of the virtual. Arguing that images are felt and lived out, the article seeks to contribute to how sociology has dealt with, and might further develop, the concept of the virtual as a productive way of understanding the relationships between images, screens, power and life.",
keywords = "images, representation, screens, the virtual, power, intensity",
author = "Rebecca Coleman",
year = "2013",
month = feb,
doi = "10.1111/1467-954X.12002",
language = "English",
volume = "61",
pages = "1--20",
journal = "The Sociological Review",
issn = "0038-0261",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Ltd",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sociology and the virtual

T2 - interactive mirrors, representational thinking and intensive power

AU - Coleman, Rebecca

PY - 2013/2

Y1 - 2013/2

N2 - This article explores the role of images in the workings of contemporary power. It examines one of the central ways in which sociology has approached images as representations and proposes an alternative understanding of images through the concepts of interactivity, intensity and the virtual. Focusing on the examples of three interactive mirrors, one a piece of artwork, another designed to be located in a designer shop and the other a medical mirror for tracking ‘vital signs’, it suggests that the mirrors emphasize the screen and, in so doing, disrupt a notion of images of representations. Images are instead brought to life; intensively experienced rather than extensively read. The article engages, first, with the increasing prevalence of screens and, second, with the moves in sociology towards theorising the value of the concept of the virtual. Arguing that images are felt and lived out, the article seeks to contribute to how sociology has dealt with, and might further develop, the concept of the virtual as a productive way of understanding the relationships between images, screens, power and life.

AB - This article explores the role of images in the workings of contemporary power. It examines one of the central ways in which sociology has approached images as representations and proposes an alternative understanding of images through the concepts of interactivity, intensity and the virtual. Focusing on the examples of three interactive mirrors, one a piece of artwork, another designed to be located in a designer shop and the other a medical mirror for tracking ‘vital signs’, it suggests that the mirrors emphasize the screen and, in so doing, disrupt a notion of images of representations. Images are instead brought to life; intensively experienced rather than extensively read. The article engages, first, with the increasing prevalence of screens and, second, with the moves in sociology towards theorising the value of the concept of the virtual. Arguing that images are felt and lived out, the article seeks to contribute to how sociology has dealt with, and might further develop, the concept of the virtual as a productive way of understanding the relationships between images, screens, power and life.

KW - images

KW - representation

KW - screens

KW - the virtual

KW - power

KW - intensity

U2 - 10.1111/1467-954X.12002

DO - 10.1111/1467-954X.12002

M3 - Journal article

VL - 61

SP - 1

EP - 20

JO - The Sociological Review

JF - The Sociological Review

SN - 0038-0261

IS - 1

ER -