Defined as a self-image made with a hand-held mobile device and shared via social media platforms, the selfie has facilitated self-imaging, becoming a ubiquitous part of globally networked contemporary life. Selfies have facilitated a diversity of image-making practices and enabled otherwise representationally marginalized constituencies to insert self-representations into visual culture. Art historically self-portraiture has been somewhat rigidly albeit obliquely defined, and selfies have facilitated a shift regarding who literally holds the power to self-image.

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS INCLUDE: SITA KURATOMI BHAUMIK, NATALIE ZELT, RUDY LEMCKE, MARC A. TASMAN, TINA SAUERLAENDER, RAMON REICHERT, MEHITA IQANI, and ACE LEHNER. Cover image courtesy of BOYCHILD (featured in Rudy Lemcke’s chapter).