Critical Theory: Key Thinkers, Texts, and Concepts

This course introduces students to the most important interventions in critical theory from the mid-twentieth century to the present, as it cuts across feminist studies, post-coloniality, critical race theory, and beyond. We will examine the approaches of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, especially as it conjugates with and influences structuralism and post-structuralism, and the development of critical social theory as a milestone for contemporary sociological, political and cultural critique in European and North American context.

Students will be exposed to a range of critical approaches that will help them engage with contemporary social-political issues and will be applying critical theories to them and/as objects of investigation. Overall, this course will help majors to develop the necessary tools for the thoughtful examination of diverse modes of culture - from social structures via political processes to art objects.