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Necromedia is a philosophical neologism coined by Marcel O'Gorman in the early 2000s.[1] It refers to human ‘technological being’ at the collusion of death and technology.
O’Gorman pointed at the masking of ‘human finitude’ in technology use, and called for the production of an “alternative technoculture” through the transformation of ‘media theorists’ into ‘media artists’.[2] For O’Gorman, research-creation[3] opposes the “metanarrative of disembodiment.”[2] This narrative is indicative of the user’s relationship to technology since before the age of generative AI, or the pursuit for more and better ways of extending and archiving users' sense of self.[4]
Programs of study
edit"Necromedia theory" is used to describe a psychosocial analysis of contemporary technoculture.[5] The University of Waterloo, for instance, has a course titled NECROMEDIA. According to its description on the Critical Media Lab website, the University of Waterloo course ENGL 794 titled NECROMEDIA first builds on the theories of Ernest Becker before introducing other ‘necromedia theorists’ including Bernard Stiegler, Martin Heidegger, Giorgio Agamben, N. Katherine Hayles, John Durham Peters, and Cary Wolfe.[5]
The University of Waterloo Critical Media Lab focuses on "projects that embody specific concepts from media theory and the philosophy of technology.” O'Gorman refers to this approach as Applied Media Theory (AMT).[6] Students engage with cross-disciplinary critical design methods to create “new media projects that explore the impact of technology on society and the more-than-human world.”[7] The posted syllabus states that students collaborate with necromedia theorists to workshop developing a “critical media ‘game’ that makes use of advanced biofeedback, geolocational, and visualization technologies.”[8]
History and definition
editMarcel O’Gorman first used necromedia in a 2004 scholarly article as a descriptor of technological betrayal at the collusion of “the death of the nuclear family” and the advent of digital consumer electronics.[1] 11 years later, this article would become the early version of the third chapter in his book.[9]
He formalized the meaning in a 2010 article published in Postmodern Culture, naming the “promise of immortality” at the collusion of the inevitability of death and technoculture.[10] 5 years later, this article would become the early version of the fifth chapter in his book.[11]
In Winter 2012, O’Gorman taught ENGL 794: NECROMEDIA at the University of Waterloo.
O’Gorman continued developing the concept in a 2012 article published in the Canadian Journal of Communication, where he introduced Applied Media Theory (AMT) at the collusion of practice (experimentation) and theory (design).[12] 3 years later, this article would become the early version of the ninth chapter in his book.[13]
In 2013, he further defined necromedia and applied media theory[14] in an article published in Angelaki, identifying love (technoromanticism) at the collusion of the chains of language (literary romanticism) and speculation (posthumanism).[15] 2 years later, this article would become the early version of the seventh chapter in his book.[16]
In April 2015, O’Gorman released a book titled Necromedia.[6]
O’Gorman expanded on the concept in a 2024 interview;[17] at the collusion of human processes and automation, “generative AI is very much a solution without a problem.”
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 O'Gorman, Marcel (2004). "American Beauty Busted: Necromedia and Domestic Discipline". SubStance. 33 (3): 34–51. doi:10.2307/3685544. ISSN 0049-2426.
- 1 2 Merryman, Walter (Jan 1, 2017). "Necromedia by Marcel O'Gorman (review)". Configurations. 25 (1): 124–129. – via Johns Hopkins University Press.
- ↑ Manning and Massumi, "Propositions for Thought in the Act," Thought in the Act, op. cit., pp. 83-152
- ↑ McLuhan, Marshall; McLuhan, Marshall (1975). Understanding media: the extensions of man (5. impr ed.). London: Routledge [and] Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0-7100-1819-9.
- 1 2 "ENGL 794 - NECROMEDIA". criticalmedia.uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- 1 2 "An Interview with Marcel O'Gorman of Critical Media Lab | An Interview with Marcel O'Gorman of Critical Media Lab | Manifold@UMinnPress". manifold.umn.edu. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- ↑ "Critical Media Lab – Technology Investigating Technology". criticalmedia.uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- ↑ "ENGL 794 - NECROMEDIA". criticalmedia.uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- ↑ O’Gorman, Marcel (2015). Necromedia. University of Minnesota Press. doi:10.5749/j.ctt13x1mm1.6. ISBN 978-0-8166-9570-6.
- ↑ "Angels in Digital Armor: Technoculture and Terror Management – POSTMODERN CULTURE". www.pomoculture.org. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- ↑ O’Gorman, Marcel (2015). Necromedia. University of Minnesota Press. doi:10.5749/j.ctt13x1mm1.8. ISBN 978-0-8166-9570-6.
- ↑ O’Gorman, Marcel (2012-04-15). "Broken Tools and Misfit Toys: Adventures in Applied Media Theory". Canadian Journal of Communication. 37 (1): 27–42. doi:10.22230/cjc.2012v37n1a2519. ISSN 0705-3657.
- ↑ O’Gorman, Marcel (2015). Necromedia. University of Minnesota Press. doi:10.5749/j.ctt13x1mm1.12. ISBN 978-0-8166-9570-6.
- ↑ "Canadian Journal of Communication (CJC)". Canadian Journal of Communication (CJC). doi:10.22230/cjc.2016v41n4a3120. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
- ↑ O’Gorman, M. (2013). SPECULATIVE REALISM IN CHAINS: a love story. Angelaki, 18(1), 31–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969725X.2013.783440
- ↑ O’GORMAN, M. (2015). SPECULATIVE REALISM UNCHAINED: A Love Story. In Necromedia (pp. 109–126). University of Minnesota Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctt13x1mm1.10
- ↑ Department of English, Arizona State University (2024-08-08). The Humanities and AI | Marcel O’Gorman, digital artist and technoculture critic. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via YouTube.
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