Critical Theory in Information Systems: Where Is the South?

Abstract

Critical research is characterised by the coupling of theorisation and intended transformation of an oppressive status quo. Yet, Information Systems (IS) research depicts critical theory as hegemonised by the three Western streams led by Bourdieu, Foucault and Habermas, neglecting critical theories formulated and developed in and for the Global South. In this paper, I highlight the problem of the “forgotten South” in critical IS research, then turning to subaltern theory (in its seminal formulation by Guha & Spivak, 1988) as an intellectual device to illuminate critical theorisations of IS from the South. The paper concludes by highlighting the ongoing turn to indigenous theory, embodied in and beyond subaltern studies, as a way to counter the Northern hegemony prevailing in critical IS research.