CTheory

CTheory was an influential online journal and theoretical platform founded in 1996 by Arthur and Marilouise Kroker that publishes critical theory, cultural analysis, and digital media criticism focused on technology, society, and posthuman conditions. Operating as both an academic journal and a public intellectual forum, CTheory has been instrumental in developing theoretical frameworks for understanding digital culture, cyborg subjectivity, and the intersection of technology with politics, aesthetics, and everyday life. The platform is particularly known for its engagement with postmodern theory, media archaeology, and critical analysis of technological society. The last online issue was published in 2017.

History and Origins

CTheory emerged from the work of Arthur Kroker, a Canadian political theorist and technology critic, and Marilouise Kroker, a photographer and cultural theorist, who established the journal as a digital-native publication during the early days of the World Wide Web. The journal grew out of their previous work on "panic theory" and technological society, building on influences from thinkers like Jean Baudrillard, Marshall McLuhan, and Friedrich Nietzsche. CTheory positioned itself as a space for "fast theory" - rapid theoretical responses to emerging technological and cultural phenomena that traditional academic publishing cycles could not accommodate.

Theoretical Approach

Kroker's scholarship, particularly works like Data Trash and Spasm, is preoccupied with the effects of technology and virtuality on the human condition. His analysis focuses on how digital and virtual reality detaches individuals from their physical bodies, creating a "virtual class" and a culture of "excremental and hyper-aesthetics". His concepts include:

• The virtual class: A technocratic elite that manipulates and controls information on the internet.
• Data trash: The state of human experience in a technologically saturated world where individuals become digital debris.
• The possessed individual: The idea that technology has so deeply integrated with human life that we are no longer its masters but are instead possessed by it.

The journal publishes work that challenges conventional academic boundaries, often featuring multimedia presentations, artistic collaborations, and hybrid forms of theory-practice. Key themes include the "possessed individual" in technological society, "data colonialism," "virtual capitalism," and the emergence of posthuman conditions. The platform consistently explores how digital technologies reshape consciousness, identity, and social relations.

Relationship to Cyborg Anthropology

CTheory has been influential in developing theoretical frameworks that parallel and inform cyborg anthropological analysis. The journal's focus on technological embodiment, digital subjectivity, and the blurring of human-machine boundaries provides critical theoretical resources for understanding cyborg conditions. Articles published in CTheory often examine how digital technologies create new forms of hybrid subjectivity, technological dependency, and posthuman agency that align with cyborg anthropological concerns about human-technology integration and its social implications.

Digital Format and Innovation

As one of the earliest academic journals to operate exclusively online, CTheory pioneered digital publishing formats that integrate text, images, and multimedia elements. The journal's commitment to open access and experimental presentation formats reflects its theoretical engagement with digital media as transformative forces rather than mere tools. This approach has made CTheory particularly relevant for scholars interested in how digital technologies change not only the content but also the forms of theoretical knowledge production.

Contemporary Relevance

CTheory continues to publish critical analysis of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, social media platforms, surveillance capitalism, and biotechnology. The journal's theoretical frameworks remain influential for scholars working in digital humanities, media studies, science and technology studies, and cyborg anthropology. Its emphasis on rapid theoretical response to technological change provides a model for critical engagement with contemporary digital transformations and their implications for human agency and social organization.

Further Reading

• DATATRASH FULL PDF
• The Possessed Individual: Technology and Postmodernity. Arthur Kroker, Palgrave (1992)
• Data Trash: The Theory of the Virtual Class, According to Arthur Kroker, In conversation with Geert Lovink
• Transcription of CBC Sunday Morning Feature on Arthur Kroker. CBC Sunday morning. July 23, 1995. Repeat of an earlier broadcast.
• Arthur and Marilouise Kroker
• Panic Encyclopedia

Further Reading

• Media Archaeology