This interdisciplinary collection draws connections across contemporary culture, neoliberalism and affect.

Neoliberalism and Affect in Twenty-First Century Culture addresses representations of the self-management of emotions in the workplace, in the personal sphere, and in relation to aesthetic experiences such as sports and the arts. One of the most salient aspects of neoliberalism is the way its pervasiveness extends to the personal sphere, subjecting it to market logics. Such omnipresence trains individuals to view themselves as competitive entrepreneurs in all facets of life including private emotions, which become commodities to be administered and owned. Thus, this collection addresses representations of the self-management of emotions in the workplace, in the personal sphere, and in relation to aesthetic experiences such as sports and the arts. Shows like Severance, novels like The Corrections, and exhibitions like MOCAK's Contemporary Models of Realism illustrate, via different media and from different ideological perspectives, vividly illustrate the centrality these points have come to retain in the arts.

This collection includes chapters from a broad range of fields including digital humanities, social sciences, politics, visual arts, performance arts, popular culture, psychology, philosophy, and economics. Topics include: The Neoliberal Workplace; Career-Centricity; The Neoliberal Success Narrative; Affect Theory; Spaces of Performance; The Ways Emotions are Managed Under Neoliberalism; Interdisciplinary Studies; Politics, Ideologies and Revolution; Flow and Gamification; Playbour; Bodily self-management and healthism; and Mindfulness and Self-Help to explore the impact of neoliberalism through an unprecedentedly diverse array of artistic media and fields, ranging from children's literature to graphic novels, from sports fiction to videogames, from cinema to TV to the digital arts, with a particular focus on how aesthetic forms conjure instances of resistance. Furthermore, it showcases neoliberal mores in dialogue with several national cultures, particularly those of Japan and the United States.