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Homebodies: Performance and Intimacy in the Age of New Media sheds light on a fascinating yet often overlooked phenomenon: how ordinary people transform their private lives into captivating performances for the digital stage. Focusing on home dance videos shared on Instagram from 2010 to 2020, the book explores the delicate art of "intimaesthetics"—the aestheticization of intimacy through the interplay of body, space, and media—and the paradox of the homebody. These seemingly spontaneous performances reveal how users craft images of closeness and authenticity, drawing audiences into a curated version of their domestic lives. Yet, Porter argues, these intimate portrayals exist within a larger system of platform control, algorithmic surveillance, and the commodification of personal expression. 

Porter utilizes hand-drawn illustrations in place of screenshots, which reflects their commitment to critiquing the exploitative dynamics of digital visibility while respecting the personal nature of the media studied. By examining the intersection of personal agency, algorithmic control, and the commodification of authenticity, Homebodies provides a nuanced understanding of how technology redefines intimacy, identity, and creativity in the twenty-first century.

A new exploration of how digital media assert the relevance of dance in a wired world

How has the Internet changed dance? Dance performances can now be seen anywhere, can be looped endlessly at user whim, and can integrate crowds in unprecedented ways. Dance practices are evolving to explore these new possibilities. In Perpetual Motion, Harmony Bench argues that dance is a vital part of civil society and a means for building participation and community. She looks at how, after 9/11, it became a crucial way of recuperating the common character of public spaces. She explores how crowdsourcing dance contributes to the project of performing a common world, as well as the social relationships forged when we look at dance as a gift in the era of globalization. Throughout, she asks how dance brings people together in digital spaces and what dance’s digital travels might mean for how we experience and express community. 

From original research on dance today to political economies of digital media to the philosophy of dance, Perpetual Motion provides an ambitious, invigorating look at a commonly shared practice.