Abstract

Judith Butler's recent work in political theory, especially the 2015 book Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly, explores the bodily dimensions of action not limited to vocalization. This performative action-theory relies heavily on Hannah Arendt's concept of the “space of appearance” and on her notion of “action in concert.” And yet, if part of Butler's purpose is to understand better how “bodily acts become performative,” then a fuller turn toward the affective dimensions of embodiment is necessary. Using recent work in affect theory to study the spatialization and physicality of emotion, the paper analyzes examples of assemblies, including the transnational SlutWalk movement and the 2006 noncitizen mass protests in the U.S., which provide a framework for thinking how the affective dimensions of assembling in public become political.