Soziologie

A new edited-volume, titled »Being There, but How? On the Transformation of Presence in (Post-)Pandemic Times«, by Sebastian Dümling (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg) and Zhenwei Wang (Bielefeld University), has been published.

The book offers fresh perspectives on how the concept of presence has evolved in the contemporary era of mediatization, digitalization, and technological advancement. The anthology is one of the first works to look at how assemblages of presence have changed over the course of the pandemic. It delivers an innovative analysis of this transformation, integrating case studies from Brazil, China, India, South Korea, Austria, Germany, and Romania, as well as theoretical discussions contributed by both students and seasoned researchers.

Abstract of the book: 

In phenomenological tradition, presence has been understood as fundamental for human experience: I experience the world as my lifeworld because I am present in this world. Even more, I experience myself as »I« only in the physical presence of the other. However, this concept of presence has become fragile through processes of medialization – especially in (post-)pandemic everyday life. Presence can no longer be experienced exclusively in physical proximity, but also digitally or virtually. With global case studies alongside theoretical discussions by both students as well as junior and senior researchers, the volume launches a conversation between social sciences and humanities on how this change affects human experience.

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