Notes on Atmosphere

This essay argues that we do not yet fully recognize and attend to the importance of atmospheres as social and political phenomena of everyday life, and draws on a range of approaches to examine these ordinary and ubiquitous sites of affective charge. First charting how creating and manipulating atmospheres in retail and commercial settings has become a feature of contemporary capitalism, the essay discusses the political potential of “organizing a climate” via the case of the recent indignados movement in Spain. The essay suggests that atmospheres can play an important role in opening up political horizons.