Thermal Cultures and the Weaponization of Heat

This presentation draws from Nicole Starosielski's book, Media Hot and Cold, a theorization of cultural and mediatic dimensions of temperature in the context of climate change. Starosielski tracks the shifting thermal regimes that structure modern experience, and the media infrastructures--ranging from thermostats to cinema--that support different thermal ideologies. While experience has always been shaped by temperature, Starosielski argues that computational media systematically shape thermal cultures to reflect existing modes of network production, distribution, and access. Starosielski calls for a critical temperature studies that can address the cultural dimensions of thermal experience. This talk will focus on one particular form of thermal experience: thermal violence. By tracking the ways that bodies are manipulated through thermal media, Starosielski will show how control and subjugation can be enacted through environmental means.