Carnalities by Mariana Ortega, Paperback, 9781478031277 | Buy online at The Nile
Departments
 Free Returns*

Carnalities

The Art of Living in Latinidad

Author: Mariana Ortega  

Carnalities
Paperback

Mariana Ortega presents a phenomenological study of aesthetics grounded in the work of Latinx artists, theorizing that photography is an affective medium crucial for processes of self-formation, resistance, and mourning in Latinx life.

Read more
New
$119.15
Or pay later with
Free 30 day returns       Secure transaction
Check delivery options
Paperback

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

Mariana Ortega presents a phenomenological study of aesthetics grounded in the work of Latinx artists, theorizing that photography is an affective medium crucial for processes of self-formation, resistance, and mourning in Latinx life.

Read more

Description

In Carnalities, Mariana Ortega presents a phenomenological study of aesthetics grounded in the work of primarily Latinx artists. She introduces the idea of carnal aesthetics informed by carnalities, creative practices shaped by the self’s affective attunement to the material, cultural, historical, communal, and spiritual. For Ortega, carnal aesthetics offers a way to think about the affective and bodily experiences of racialized selves. Drawing on Gloria AnzaldÚa, Chela Sandoval, JosÉ Esteban MuÑoz, Alia Al-Saji, Helen Ngo, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Roland Barthes, and others, Ortega examines photographic works on Latinx subjects. She analyzes the photography of Laura Aguilar, VerÓnica Gabriela CÁrdenas, and Susan Meiselas, among others, theorizing photography as a carnal, affective medium that is crucial for processes of self-formation, resistance, and mourning in Latinx life. She ends with an intimate reading of photography through a reflection of her own crossing from Nicaragua to the United States in 1979. Motivated by her experience of loss and exile, Ortega argues for the importance of carnal aesthetics in destabilizing and transforming normative, colonial, and decolonial subjects, imaginaries, and structures.

Read more

Critic Reviews

“This is a remarkable book. Through an analysis of artistic practices and ideas, Mariana Ortega produces a feeling-thinking, or sentir-pensar, of the contemporary conditions of immigrant life, Latinx life, female embodiment, and queer life. By focusing on an aesthetics of the carnal, she explores how art can change our habits of perception to help us see and feel what is before us. This is a book that has a heartbeat.” - Linda Martín Alcoff, Professor of Philosophy, City University of New York “Mariana Ortega is a compassionate thinker who argues for the importance of feelings and affect, both as these negatively shape us within racism and homophobia, for example, and also as that which might allow us to resist and transform the oppressively dominant. This highly polished, deeply thought, and carefully argued book is the product of a mind deeply in touch with aesthetic sensibility, bodily knowledge, and a hunger for love and justice. A lovely, mature work.” - Laura E. Pérez, Professor of Chicanx and Latinx Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Read more

About the Author

Mariana Ortega is Associate Professor of Philosophy, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Latina/o Studies at Pennsylvania State University. She is the author of In-Between: Latina Feminist Phenomenology, Multiplicity, and the Self and coeditor of Constructing the Nation: A Race and Nationalism Reader and Theories of the Flesh: Latinx and Latin American Feminisms, Transformation, and Resistance.

Read more

Product Details

Publisher
Duke University Press
Published
3rd February 2025
Pages
277
ISBN
9781478031277

Returns

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.

New
$119.15
Or pay later with
Free 30 day returns       Secure transaction
Check delivery options
Browse by category
YOUR PAYMENT IS SECURE

We use 100% PCI DSS compliant payment services. That means your payment information is always protected, and never gets seen by anyone.
30-DAY FREE RETURN POLICY

Return nearly all items within 30 days of delivery. Unused or faulty items are acceptable as free returns. *Exceptions apply, see our returns policy.

The Nile
Follow Us
Help & Support
Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 The Nile Group.

Zip

 AfterPay

PayPal

Credit Card
Buy Baby at The Nile
 
 
 
Buy Toys at The Nile
Buy Books at The Nile
Buy Movies & TV at The Nile
Our Top Brands