TY - JOUR
T1 - Coaxing an intimate public
T2 - Life narrative in digital storytelling
AU - Poletti, Anna
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - This article considers the practice of digital storytelling in light of contemporary theories of autobiography and affect. Using the concept of coaxed life narrative developed by Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson, I analyse the role of digital storytelling in diversifying the voices in the public sphere. Drawing on Berlant's theory of the intimate public, I argue that given its formal restrictions and thematic preoccupations, digital storytelling produces texts focused on affective connection with the audience, contributing to the prevalence of intimacy and affect in the construction of contemporary citizenship. I conclude by considering the capacity of digital storytelling to articulate the relationships between personal experiences of structural social and political inequalities, given its narrative emphasis on closure, affect and universality.
AB - This article considers the practice of digital storytelling in light of contemporary theories of autobiography and affect. Using the concept of coaxed life narrative developed by Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson, I analyse the role of digital storytelling in diversifying the voices in the public sphere. Drawing on Berlant's theory of the intimate public, I argue that given its formal restrictions and thematic preoccupations, digital storytelling produces texts focused on affective connection with the audience, contributing to the prevalence of intimacy and affect in the construction of contemporary citizenship. I conclude by considering the capacity of digital storytelling to articulate the relationships between personal experiences of structural social and political inequalities, given its narrative emphasis on closure, affect and universality.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79951843024&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10304312.2010.506672
DO - 10.1080/10304312.2010.506672
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79951843024
SN - 1030-4312
VL - 25
SP - 73
EP - 83
JO - Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies
JF - Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies
IS - 1
ER -