Introduction

Atmospheres can be sensed by a singular subject yet have collective affective qualities that evade the singular; they can be created but are also co-creating the ways through which we sense and perceive in the world. The notion of atmosphere has always been present as an undercurrent in social anthropology. M. Bille and his co-authors, for instance, look at how public and private spaces also entail the possibility of staging atmospheres deliberately. Atmospheres, for G. Bohme, are neither to be attributed to the experiencing subject alone, nor to be regarded as belonging to the physical environment. Atmospheres arise out of the constellation of things and people and are understood as the perceived quality of a certain situation. In contrast to Bohme's insistence of locating atmosphere in the interstitial spaces in-between objects, T. Ingold highlights its permeating and immersive characteristics. The chapter also presents some concepts discussed in this book.