Political Agency Online

This book examines the ways that political agency can be understood in digitally dominated media environments. Kramer shows how emotional work on the online-active self is both culturally and institutionally embedded. Filling a gap in the scholarship on the affective conditions of agency, this book conceptualizes political agency online through case studies that center on the creativity of-and difficulties faced by-Indian Muslims who run popular handles on social networking sites. The book will appeal to scholars and students interested in affect and emotion, digital and political ethics, media anthropology, South Asian studies, mediation and Muslim politics in India.

Max Kramer is currently Acting Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany.

Introduction: The Trouble with Being Tactical 1. There Never Was an Indian Muslim Twitter: Field and Fictionalization 2. Violence, Visibility, and the Ethics of Evidence 3. Navigating Negative Emotions in Online Extreme Speech 4. Imprints of Time on the Platform Mushaira 5. The Limits of Solidarity in Caste-Related Muslim Politics on Twitter Conclusion: Between Ethics and Morality