McKenzie Wark
Professor, Culture and Media; Program Director, Gender Studies (fall 2023)
Profile
“The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.”
What I love to write, and to teach, is ways to think critically about contemporary life, as we can perceive and understand it via its media and culture. If we can equip ourselves with concepts that create some distance from our all-too familiar media bubbles, we can find our way towards crafting better lives, singly and together. Alongside my regular courses in digital media, I've lately been writing and teaching a lot in transgender studies. I've also just fineished a book about the queer and trans rave scene in New York, reviving an old interest in the study of nightlife and subcultures. I like to stay curious, and tend to move my research and writing interests on to different topics every few years—so maybe I'll be looking into something else again soon.
Degrees Held
BA (Hons), MA, PhD, FAHA
Recent Publications
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Raving, 2023
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Philosophy for Spiders: on the low theory of Kathy Acker, 2021
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Sensoria, 2020
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I'm Very into You: Correspondence 1995-1996 (with Kathy Acker), 2015
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Capital is Dead, Verso Books, 2019
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General Intellects: 21 Thinkers for the 21st Century, Verso Books, 2017
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Molecular Red: Theory of the Anthropocene, Verso, 2015
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The Spectacle of Disintegration, Verso Books, 2013
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Telesthesia: Communication, Culture & Class, Polity Press, 2012
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The Beach Beneath the Street: The Everyday Like and Glorious Times of the Situationist International, Verso Books, 2011
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Gamer Theory, Harvard University Press, 2007
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A Hacker Manifesto, Harvard University Press, 2004
Performances and Appearances
My Bandcamp page
Research Interests
Media theory, new media, critical theory, cinema, music, visual art.
Awards And Honors
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Thoma Foundation 2019 Arts Writing Award in Digital Art
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Corresponding Fellow, Australian Academy of the Humanities
Future Courses
Autofiction
LCST 4502, Fall 2025
Autotheory
GLIB 5209, Fall 2025
Gender and its Discontents
UTNS 5406, Fall 2025
Gender and its Discontents
GLIB 5406, Fall 2025
Independent Senior Project
LCST 4990, Fall 2025, Spring 2026
Independent Study
GSOC 6990, Spring 2026
Independent Study
LCST 3950, Fall 2025, Spring 2026
Independent Study
GLIB 6990, Fall 2025, Spring 2026
Intro. to Cultural Studies
ULEC 2026, Spring 2026
Past Courses
Creatives & Info Economy
LCST 2313, Fall 2024
Gender and its Discontents
UTNS 5406, Spring 2025
Gender and its Discontents
GLIB 5406, Spring 2025
Independent Senior Project
LCST 4990, Fall 2024, Spring 2025
Independent Study
LCST 3950, Fall 2024, Spring 2025
Independent Study
GLIB 6990, Fall 2024, Spring 2025
Independent Study
GSOC 6990, Spring 2025
Intro. to Cultural Studies
ULEC 2026, Spring 2025
Race, Gender, and Nightlife
LCST 2409, Fall 2024