Acknowledgements

We warmly thank all the authors for their inspiring engagement with the topic of this book, and who further have made thought-provoking contributions. The impressive work of the authors has spurred our thinking on affective intimacies, and we wish that the readers will find their work as valuable as we do. Thank you for your excellent contributions. Our deepest thanks go to our editor Thomas Dark – we are grateful for his encouragement and invaluable guidance – as well as to Lucy Burns, whom we praise for her excellent support during the production process, and to all the good people at Manchester University Press. It was a true pleasure working with you. We are also very grateful to the Knowledge Unlatched project for making our book available to readers and scholars free of charge. It is close to our heart to support the aim of making publications open access and we really appreciate your work, in regard to this volume and beyond. We would also like to express our gratitude to the anonymous peer-reviewer of this collection for their unquestionable support and insightful feedback.

This edited collection has its origins in an international workshop entitled ‘Affective Intimacies: A Workshop with Sasha Roseneil and Kinneret Lahad’ which was held at Tampere University on 18–19 November 2019. It consisted of two public keynotes by Professor Sasha Roseneil (University College London, UK) and Dr Kinneret Lahad (Tel-Aviv University, Israel) followed by commentaries from Dr Tuula Juvonen (Tampere University, Finland) and Professor Susanna Paasonen (University of Turku, Finland). Marjo Kolehmainen and Annukka Lahti were members of the organising team. During the preparations, we became interested in editorial collaboration, which has already resulted in a special issue that was published in NORA – The Nordic Journal of Gender and Feminist Research (2021). Many thanks to our fellow organisers of the ‘Affective Intimacies’ event, as well as to all participants, keynote speakers and commentators.

Marjo Kolehmainen’s work was supported by Intimacy in Data-Driven Culture (IDA), a research consortium funded by the Strategic Research Council at the Academy of Finland. Marjo would like to thank Professor Susanna Paasonen and Professor Anu Koivunen for their own inspiring work on affect and intimacy and for the support they have provided, as well as her other colleagues from IDA. Further, during her employment in IDA, she also visited the IAS at University College London, UK. She would like to thank Professor Sasha Roseneil for sponsoring that fruitful and in many ways unforgettable visit. She would like to thank Professor Johanna Kantola and the vibrant gender studies community at Tampere University. Further, she would like to thank Marja Vehviläinen and the naturecultures reading group on feminist post-humanism for several inspiring discussions and engagements. Warm thanks to Annukka Lahti and Kinneret Lahad for their co-editorship. Finally, her heartfelt thanks go to her everyday human and cat companions: Jaakko, Einari, Aukusti, Otsu and Mitsu.

Annukka Lahti’s work was supported by the Kone Foundation and the University of Eastern Finland. In UEF she has the privilege to work under the mentorship of Professor Laura Assmuth, Professor Eeva Jokinen and Professor Jaana Vuori, whom she would like to thank for inspiration, encouragement and support. Her warmest thanks go to Marjo Kolehmainen and Kinneret Lahad for inspiring collaboration in co-editing this book. Many thanks also to the naturecultures reading group at Tampere University for offering a platform to discuss and learn about feminist post-humanisms. Further, her heartfelt thanks go to fellow feminists, colleagues and friends Heidi Elmgren, Laura Mankki, Armi Mustosmäki, Tiina Sihto and Jenny Säilävaara for sharing everyday ups and downs of (academic) life, as well as to her friends, partner and family.

Kinneret Lahad wishes to thank Marjo Kolehmainen and Annukka Lahti for inviting her to take part in this fascinating intellectual research project. She offers them her deepest thanks. She also thanks her wonderful colleagues at Tel-Aviv University as well as her close friends and family. Special thanks to her nephew and nieces, Neta Lahad, Nitzan Lahad, Noam Shaanan, Niri Lahad and Yuval Shaanan; she is grateful for all the laughter and love she shares with them.

Tampere and Jyväskylä, Finland, and Tel-Aviv, Israel

24 November 2021

Marjo Kolehmainen, Annukka Lahti and Kinneret Lahad