Overview

This original and interdisciplinary volume explores the contemporary semiotic dimensions of the face from both scientific and sociocultural perspectives, putting forward several traditions, aspects, and signs of the human utopia of creating a hybrid face. The book semiotically delves into the multifaceted realm of the digital face, exploring its biological and social functions, the concept of masks, the impact of COVID-19, AI systems, digital portraiture, symbolic faces in films, viral communication, alien depictions, personhood in video games, online intimacy, and digital memorials. The human face is increasingly living a life that is not only that of the biological body but also that of its digital avatar, spread through a myriad of new channels and transformable through filters, post-productions, digital cosmetics, all the way to the creation of deepfakes. The digital face expresses new and largely unknown meanings, which this book explores and analyzes through an interdisciplinary but systematic approach. The volume will interest researchers, scholars, and advanced students who are interested in digital humanities, communication studies, semiotics, visual studies, visual anthropology, cultural studies, and, broadly speaking, innovative approaches about the meaning of the face in present-day digital societies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Full Product Details

Author:   Massimo Leone (University of Turin, Italy)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.400kg
ISBN:  

9781032460963

ISBN 10:   1032460962
Pages:   252
Publication Date:   05 May 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Masked Faces: A Tale of Functional Redeployment between Biology and Material Culture Contagious Faces: Coping Digitally with the Pandemic by Means of Memes Uncertain Faces: An Investigation into Visual Forms for Communicating Otherness Simulacral Faces: A Dramaturgy in Digital Environments Emerging Faces: The Figure-Ground Relation from Renaissance Painting to Deepfakes Timely Faces Featureless Faces: A Film Aesthetics Imaginary Faces: Aliens, Monsters, and Otherness Automatic Faces: The Transcendent Visage of Trans-Humanity Algorithmic Faces: Reflections on the Visage in Artistic Translation and Transition Dating Faces: The Facial Space of Belonging in Online (Dating) Communities Evanescent Faces: A Semiotic Investigation of Digital Memorials and Commemorative Practices References

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Author Information

Massimo Leone is Professor of Philosophy of Communication at the University of Turin; Research Director at the “Bruno Kessler Foundation”, Trento; part-time Professor of Semiotics at the University of Shanghai; associate member of Cambridge Digital Humanities; and Adjunct Professor at the UCAB University of Caracas. He is the PI of ERC Projects FACETS (2019) and EUFACETS (2022).

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