Narratives of the Selves and the (in)Tangibility of Vibrant Matter

Abstract

Focusing specifically on how self-narratives transform narratives of other things, the paper focuses on the category of (in)tangibility in vibrant matter. How and in what ways does the (in)tangible quality of things matter in matters and how it plays a part in the material relationship of narratives? Engaging with theories of new materialism, such as Jane Bennet’s “thing power” and “distributive agency,” and Mel Chen’s discussion on animacy in language, the paper is also in conversation with the genealogy of affective hapticity and the Western tradition of self-narrative. Responding to Jane Bennet’s question on human and things, the paper suggests that (in)tangibility of matter may offer us a way to better navigate the language gap between things and human. The paper argues that pausing at moments of (in)tangible processes will make visible how narratives have its own narratives, despite the seemingly anthropocentric nature in our reading of narratives. Placing human subjectivities not as the only producers of narratives, the paper will demonstrate that things, too, share certain narratives that exist in adjacent with the human.