Critical Media Theory (CMT) II

What is the Good Life in the information age? Smartphone addiction correlates with “the loneliest generation” where 1 in 5 millennials report having no friends. What are we becoming, and more importantly, how are we to, as Heidegger would say, “Come into a freer relationship with technology?” Join David McKerracher and Ann Snelgrove of Theory Underground for six months of sustained thinking on an issue that is the most pressing in both theoretical and practical terms. This course blends practical experimentation and reflections on new ways of living with our devices and the theory of media, power, propaganda, and philosophy of technology.

There are two ways to get involved: Enroll here via one of the tiers, or become a subscriber to TU – right here.

Tier 1: AUDIT: Access to the lecture Zoom calls + 6 months of access to the lecture recordings and the forum. 

Tier 2: LONG-TERM BUY-IN: Everything from Tier 1 + Long-term buy-in and access to the course, forum, and lectures.

Tier 3: CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: Everything from Tiers 1 & 2 + Direct constructive critical feedback from Dave (via voice messages and/or marked up reviews of your assignments). This includes the writer’s workshop and office hours package.

Tier 4: ASSESSMENT & ACCOUNTABILITY: Everything from Tiers 1-3 + (1) Access to any of the live and recorded exegetical reading sessions of this text that Dave will do + (2) Two 1-on-1 Zoom calls with Dave. The first is to be scheduled while the course is ongoing, and the second is to be conducted after the course is over, for a constructive criticism session dealing with your final project.

David McKerracher (M.A.)

David McKerracher (M.A.) is the organizer for, and founder of, Theory Underground, a course-based social media site and app by and for people who don’t belong anywhere: drop outs, blue collar intellectuals, and renegade PMCs. McKerracher’s background is in critical theory, political philosophy, existentialism and phenomenology. All of McKerracher’s work revolves around a single question: What is the Good Life? His questioning into the conditions of possibility for living the Good Life led McKerracher to an M.A. thesis on “Timenergy, the existential basis of labor power.” This work draws heavily from Marx and Heidegger. McKerracher develops this concept further in his first book called Waypoint: Timenergy, Critical Media Theory, and Social Change, and Timenergy (coming out Fall 2023). Because “Timenergy Theory” requires a more robust theory of libidinal economy and ideology, McKerracher has spent the last few years learning Žižekian and Lacanian theory from his compatriot Michael Downs. Theory Underground is McKerracher’s vehicle for cultivating the kind of research and conversation necessary to take this project to the next level, the long-term goal of which is to overcome the current culture war deadlocks by inquiry into their conditions of possibility. The goal of this work is to pave a way forward for humanity to maintain the conditions of a robust cultural plurality, harness automation-for-all, and ultimately, explore the universe, but without creating indefinite civil war with those who try to “stay natural” and remain on Earth.

Ann Snelgrove-McKerracher 

Ann Snelgrove’s background is in social science research. Snelgrove graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science from Boise State University where she was part of a research cohort that studied the neoliberalization of higher education. She also helped develop and teach a course on the related topic, “Is College Worth It?” The question that has driven all of Ann’s research, as well as her past political activity, has always been, “What is the Good Life?” At Theory Underground, she has helped develop and teach two courses: The Idea of the University, Digital Literacy and CMT (Critical Media Theory), and Critical Doxology and Timenergy (CDT). When not doing theory related research, Ann can be found traveling the world with Dave, learning languages, reading novels, baking, hiking, or participating in local theater.