Origins and Futures in Critical Theory

Overview

Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
Convenor: to be confirmed
Assessment: a 5000-word essay (100%)

Module description

In this module we explore the tradition of critical theory in relation to historical and political change over a century. A single body of thought derived from the thinking of, predominantly, Adorno, Horkheimer and Benjamin is tracked across time to raise questions about its changing capacities.

We will track the changing reception of the original dominant tradition of critical theory, foregrounding the historical formation of theory and its appropriation, as well as opening it up to current concerns. Frankfurt School critical theory is examined through Horkheimer’s formulation of the project in the 1920s and its subsequent versions, as shown below.

Indicative syllabus

Frankfurt School critical theory: Horkheimer’s formulation of the project in the 1920s
Anti-Fascist critique through critical theory (1930s)
Critical theory as positivist social theory in the USA (1940s)
Contested theory in the student movement (1968)
Anarcho-theory in Berlin, Paris, New York (1970s/80s)
Feminist Frankfurt School (1980s)
End of theory and the end of history (1990s)
Geo-theory and the role of landscape (2000s)
Other-oriented critical theory: vegan and animal-centric appropriations of Adorno (2010s)
Contemporary post-critical theory and decolonising the academy

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you will have:

established the parameters and original aims of critical theory as conceived in 1920s
an understanding of the ways in which historical content was brought to bear on the original project
explored critical theory’s various iterations across 100 years
articulated the historical and ongoing significance of this body of thought, as well as what is no longer relevant
an understanding of how theory is a historical formation, which changes through time
conceptualised what the demands of critical theory in the present might be.