ABSTRACT
In lieu of perspectives that would reduce affect to autonomic forces or intensities, I turn to a conception linked to telepathy and dreamlike states. This chapter begins by examining the role of the body within more widely accepted theories of affect in order to address the question of whether embodied, physical contact is even needed for affects to materialize. Following Blackman (2012), I am interested in the body’s psychic/psychological potential, or its ability to communicate in largely immaterial ways. Drawing upon the concept of ‘haunting’ as a methodological and analytical tool, I explore what openings are created for an affective immateriality in the context of student–teacher relationships, specifically through revisiting my own relationship with a former student of mine (John). I argue that turning attention toward the immateriality of bodies opens up spaces to both challenge the pathologizing of student–teacher intimacies and keep alive that which is potentially forgotten or erased by more popular notions of affect and what a body can do. I conclude by proposing that we remember, rather than refuse, immaterial matters and suggest that doing so enables us to revive those ‘ghostly bodies’ that continue to be displaced, devalued, and/or marginalized within traditional educational environments.
