Scenes of Attention

Why is there such great anxiety over attention? That’s the question at the heart of this new book edited by Smith and Burnett. It investigates attention from a range of disciplinary perspectives, from philosophy to comparative literature. This examination offers key moments in the history of the study of attention as well as explores the link between attention, culture, and technology. Scenes of Attention (Columbia University Press) deepens the thinking that is needed to protect the freedom of attention and the forms of life that make it possible.