Broken Tools and Misfit Toys: Adventures in Applied Media Theory

Abstract

The majority of media theorists who have applied their work in new technological contexts have eschewed formal experimentation to produce a print-oriented mode of discourse. Even in the digital humanities, scholars build and use tools that ultimately lead to the creation of traditional academic essays and monographs. Applied Media Theory (AMT) is a method that engages in formal experimentation with media to generate critical discourses and technologies. This article identifies a new applied critical practice that not only examines, but also intervenes, in the formation of digital culture, primarily by combining digital art practices with conventional research methods. AMT is outlined here through a description of projects underway in the Critical Media Lab at the University of Waterloo.