Featured Publications
New Release
Conspiracy Theories and Extremism in New Times
Conspiracy Theories and Extremism in New Times outlines a cadre of alt-right groups, conspiracy theories, and other forms of stigmatized knowledge threatening our society. In an era dominated by the pervasive influence of social media, the scholarly gaze has often overlooked the ways far-right factions leverage these platforms to propagate anti-democratic ideologies. From the denial of the moon landing to the enigmatic labyrinth of QAnon, and a myriad of other alt-right groups in between, this anthology presents a compelling case for the continued relevancy of the Frankfurt School of Critical Social Theory. Uncover the intricate web connecting these ideologies to everyday life, and arm yourself with the critical insights needed to navigate the turbulent currents of our modern socio-political landscape.
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New in Paperback
Electronic Dance Music
Published in 2023, Electronic Dance Music: From Deviant Subculture to Culture Industry explores the subculture's emergence as a deviant subculture. This text analyzes how industry professionals, fans, and public officials helped usher in a new age of EDM, arguing that while the defining feature of the subculture made it attractive, they also laid the foundation for outsiders to commodify the movement as a culture industry. Conner and Dickens explore the concept of "commodified resistance" as the mechanism by which the movement's politically dissident features were removed and its place as a multi-billion dollar industry was made possible. Out now from Rowman and Littlefield, use AUTH30 for 30% off at checkout at the publisher's website.
Recent Publications
About
Christopher T. Conner Assistant Professor of Sociology at The University of Missouri, Columbia. His research is at the intersection of criminology/deviance, social movements, technology, gender and sexuality, and social theory.
Currently, Dr. Conner is working on several projects exploring the social dynamics of the digital world. His latest work examines cybercrime, online fraud, and deception. In 2024 alone, deception scams--including romance fraud, business email compromise, and other tactics--defrauded U.S. victims of $16.6 Billion, a 33% increase from 2023 (FBI IC3). This research builds on his broader investigation into how large-scale technolgocial shifts have transformed human interaction. He has analyzed this process for dating apps like Grindr, to music subcultures, and more recently far-right groups and conspiracists.
Chris' work has been featured in a variety of outlets including Critical Sociology, YOUNG: Journal of Nordic Youth Culture, The Sociological Quarterly, Deviant Behavior, Symbolic Interaction, and Sexualities. He is a semi-regular contributor to Salon and The Conversation, and has been interviewed by a variety of national news outlets. He has also co-edited numerous anthologies including The Spectacle of Online Life (In Production), The Gayborhood: From Sexual Liberation to Cosmopolitan Spectacle, Forgotten Founders and Other Neglected Social Theorists, and Studies in Symbolic Interaction: Subcultures.
Dr. Conner is the 2023 recipient of The Kathy Charmez Early in Career Award given by The Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, and was also the Mizzou honorary men's basketball coach Spring 2025. His book Conspiracy Theories and Extremism in New Times won a Choice Books Recommendation.
Media Interviews & Podcast Appearances
VIDEO
Policing Desire: How Digital Surveillance Turns Queer Intimacy Into Crime
In this episode, host Dallas Bragg sits down with Dr. Chris Conner, Stephen O Murray Faculty in Residence at Michigan State University. Dr. Conner has taught Drugs and Society for 7 years, and shares insights from research on Chemsex use in the gay community.
DECEMBER 18, 2025
VIDEO
'Conspiracy Theories': Separating Facts from Fiction
Conspiracy theories surface everywhere — from social media feeds to workplace chatter — making it increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction. Presented persuasively enough, even the most outlandish claims can make us question what we believe.
DECEMBER 11, 2025
VIDEO
Policing Desire: How Digital Surveillance Turns Queer Intimacy into Crime
Once imagined as digital havens for queer intimacy, apps like Grindr now function as tools of surveillance—first by intimate others, then by outsiders, and most recently by law enforcement and criminals. This presentation explores how queer bodies are policed and surveilled, a process made efficient through new technologies, as part of the politics of safety in the digital age.
NOVEMBER 7, 2025
Student Feedback
“The professor was one of the best teachers I have ever had. He was very flexible and helpful no matter what the situation was. He knew this wasn't our number one priority all the time, so he utilized class presentations extremely well. I was very impressed with him.”
Criminology SOCIOL 3600
Fall 2021
Book Series
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Nature, Neoliberalism, and New Materialisms
The Frankfurt School in New Times
This series focuses on the contemporary significance of the work of the Frankfurt School of critical theory. While almost one hundred years have passed since it was first established, the work of the members of the Frankfurt School is today highly relevant for the analysis and understanding of a broad range of contemporary issues. Just as in the period when the original members of the Frankfurt school were conducting their work, we now face a series of complex challenges due to the number of large-scale historical changes. Many of these are the result of new technologies that, rather than leading to emancipation, have resulted in new forms of domination and divisiveness.
The books published in the series addresses this broad range of concern by employing and updating the work of the Frankfurt School. In so doing we hope to produce a body of work that makes both a theoretical and substantive contribution to the analysis of contemporary social life. We thus invite submissions from those who exemplify Marx’s observation that, “the philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however is to change it.” Moreover, because of the complexity of issues that we face, we welcome approaches that combine other frameworks with the Frankfurt School to create a more robust understanding of the social world.
Email Chris Conner (chris.conner@missouri.edu) and Courtney Morales (courtney.morales@bloomsbury.com) if you're interested in proposing a monograph or edited volume for the series.
Public Sociology
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