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Linsey McGoey, a professor at the University of Essex is joining Noortje Marres and Nick Ganes in an event led by Technology Economy and Society Cluster. Linsey works across social theory, economic sociology and the epistemology of knowledge and ignorance. She has written several books with her next book ‘Judgement Machines: Oracular Power and the Making of Truth, is under contract with University of Toronto Press.’

Abstract for the event is below: In a small town in rural Ohio called East Palestine, there’s a single bar. In this bar, you’ll often find reruns of Yellowstone playing on TV screens, signifying a type of rural resonance and pride at a time of deepening political polarization. This talk explores that rural resonance by drawing on theories of polarization, as well as qualitative research carried out in different Anglosphere nations. I explore the role of new and old technologies in fuelling different political attitudes during an era of widespread economic immiseration. I develop concepts such as ‘oracular power’ and ‘phantomwealth’ to theorize this interview data. I also critically analyse various cornerstone terms used in the past to understand political discord and economic injustice, including the phrases ‘white ignorance’ and ‘racial capitalism’ and their limitations.