GOVT 6495

The Politics of Critical Theory

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

"Critical theory" is a mode of theory that aims not merely to understand the world as it is, but to place that understanding in the service of emancipation from domination. In this seminar, we will read works of critical theory from the eighteenth century to the present, some associated with the "Frankfurt School" but many not, which deal with such subjects as capitalism, authoritarianism, mass culture, enlightenment and reason, communication and violence, alienation and recognition, the domination of nature, European colonialism, white supremacy, and patriarchy; and we will ask how the practice of critical theory has been shaped by controversies (across generations, national contexts, intellectual and political orientations, and institutional settings) about what counts as "critical."

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: GOVT 1615 or permission of instructor.

Course Subfield (PT)

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