About Social Text

Welcome to the Social Text website, socialtextjournal.org.


Since its founding in 1979, the journal Social Text has forged creative connections between critical theory and political practice. Interdisciplinary and interventionist, the editorial collective has sought to expand and redefine what scholarship can do. This has always included being at the forefront of cultural and technological change. The internet, a defining social text of our time, presents one such opportunity. With our website, we seek to seize that opportunity optimistically but without naivete. We well know that the forms of knowledge the internet erodes and enables, centers and disperses, connects and divides.

At a moment when the roles of the intellectual and educator are being rapidly reorganized from the top down, we imagine our website as a renewal of Social Text’s activist and public premise. We seek to accomplish more than just the online duplication of our print efforts. With expanded opportunities for user commenting, timely publication via blogs and online dossiers, and the use of multimedia, web publication will complement the ongoing work of the print journal. We will continue to link to downloadable copies of articles from the print journal via the subscription-based access offered by Duke University Press. And we will also be offering free online features such as:

  • Multimedia enhancements to select articles from the print journal, and one free featured article per print issue, available for six months from publication date;

  • A web review section for books, film, art and performance;

  • A blog regularly updated by members of the Social Text collective as well as guest bloggers;

  • A new online dossier section, Periscope, featuring curated collections of short essays, photo essays, or other multimedia, on a topic of timely interest;

  • An expanded events page, with notices of both official Social Text events and featured events members of the collective are participating in;

  • Profile pages of collective members, contributors to the journal, and registered users of the site, with links to biographical info, print and web publications, and site commentary.

Please visit the site today, explore, and register to join our online community. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed. If you have comments, questions, or ideas for the site, please email us individually or at webeditor@socialtextjournal.org.

Web Co-Editors


Web Managing Editor

Michael Houk

Web Commitee

Brian Larkin
Shireen Patell

Journal Co-Editors

Neferti Tadiar

Journal Managing Editor


Journal Arts Editor


Members of Social Text Collective

Contact Us

Please direct all inquiries to the managing editor at the following coordinates:

Postal address:

Social Text
Columbia University
Heyman HB1-5
2960 Broadway, MC 5700
New York, NY 10027

Phone & Fax:
PH: 212-854-0583
FX: 212-854-3099
Email:
socialtext at columbia dot edu