The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory

The World Wide Web is the most celebrated contemporary manifestation of 'cyberspace'. To date however, most public discussion of the Web falls into the category of explanatory journalism. The Web has remained largely unmapped in terms of contemporary cultural research.

This book brings together well-known scholars in the humanities and social sciences to explore the Web as a cultural technology characterized by a nexus of economic, political, social, and aesthetic forces. The essays explore the relationship between commerce and the Web, the implications of the 'end of geography' argument - which posits the notion that the Web makes physical distance irrelevant.



It also covers the Web and corporate media systems; conspiracy theories; the economy of cyberpromotion; and issues of gender on the Web. As you might expect from academics in media and communication studies, there's quite a lot of silliness here - Star Wars and Derrida, plus New Age/UFO Millenarianism - but there are also some good essays which engage with serious topics.

David Tetzlaff for instance describes the experience of spending time with warez enthusiasts [software pirates] which makes a very plausible case for these small-time dealers actually enhancing the reputations and profits of the original publishers - and he does this without becoming gullible or dewey-eyed. This is a good essay which gains its force from being grounded in real, day-to-day activity on the Web.

Actually, you can ignore the 'Cultural Theory' in the title - because there's probably no such thing. For 'theory', read 'opinion' or 'impressions'. Forget any notions of rigour, and enjoy some of the better pieces on how Web-awards may not be what they seem, the theory of hypertext links, and the relationship between reading and hypertext. After all, that's what you are doing right now, isn't it?