CRITICAL THEORY INTRODUCTION

Lora's Tour

Cyberspace and Critical Theory

Definitions

Why is critical theory necessary in cyberspace? Cyberspace functions as a medium, just as other media such as art, drama, or printed text. Critical theory evaluates its role as a medium by asking: what are its strengths and weaknesses? What is acomplished here an no where else? How does it relate to the history of media? What does human culture gain or lose because of it?

To see where these theories that are now applied to digital media came from, I suggest you see my professor's site which gives a critical theory overview.

If you already have a good handle on theory and would like to see what people in the field have to say, I suggest this link.
To see how this theory is applied, this informative site discusses its role related to hypertext.
This is an overview of critical theory on hypertext for this website.

I've set up some paths if you would like to take a closer look at some of the theories discussed on this site.

Plato, surprisingly is very relevant to issues of cyberspace and hypertext.

The Postmodernists are more or less the major theorists of cyberspace because this medium is both a cause and expression of their theories.

For those of you interested in a longer, in-depth, discussion of theories try this essay on Feminism, Ideology, and Deconstructionism.