On Insignificance: The Loss Of Meaning In The Post-Material Age

Description

"Focussing on the anthropological consequences of the disappearing of materiality and sensory embodiment, On Insignificance highlights some of the most perturbing patterns of insignificance that have seeped into our everyday lives. Seeking to explain the semiotic causes of feelings of meaningless, Leone posits that caring for the singularities of the world is the most viable way to resist the alienating effects of the digital bureaucratization of meaning. The book will be of interest to scholars of anthropology, cultural studies, semiotics, aesthetics, communication studies and social theory". Introduction: The Significance of Insignificance1. Framing Insignificance: A Semiotic Typology of Meaningless2. Trolling Insignificance: Disrupting the Digital Public Discourse3. Contrarian Insignificance: Wars of Position in the Digitial Arena4. Picturing Insignificance: The Utopia of Digital Perfection5. Shopping Insignificance: Post-Material Temples6. Assembling Insignificance: Post-Material Crowds7. Eating Insignificance: Post-Material Meals8. Recovering Significance: The Value of Singularity9. Negotiating Significance: The Value of Compromise10. Sharing Insignificance: the Value of Common Sense11. Courting Significance: The Value of Interpretation12. Conclusions: the Clash of Semiotic Civilizations