Showing papers on "Critical theory published in 2009"

What is critical urban theory

Abstract: What is critical urban theory? While this phrase is often used in a descriptive sense, to characterize the tradition of post‐1968 leftist or radical urban studies, I argue that it also has determinate social–theoretical content. To this end, building on the work of several Frankfurt School social philosophers, this paper interprets critical theory with reference to four, mutually interconnected elements—its theoretical character; its reflexivity; its critique of instrumental reason; and its emphasis on the disjuncture between the actual and the possible. On this basis, a brief concluding section considers the status of urban questions within critical social theory. In the early 21st century, I argue, each of the four key elements within critical social theory requires sustained engagement with contemporary patterns of capitalist urbanization. Under conditions of increasingly generalized, worldwide urbanization, the project of critical social theory and that of critical urban theory have been intertwined a...

The Cosmopolitan Imagination: The Renewal of Critical Social Theory

Abstract: Gerard Delanty provides a comprehensive assessment of the idea of cosmopolitanism in social and political thought which links cosmopolitan theory with critical social theory. He argues that cosmopolitanism has a critical dimension which offers a solution to one of the weaknesses in the critical theory tradition: failure to respond to the challenges of globalization and intercultural communication. Critical cosmopolitanism, he proposes, is an approach that is not only relevant to social scientific analysis but also normatively grounded in a critical attitude. Delanty's argument for a critical, sociologically oriented cosmopolitanism aims to avoid, on the one hand, purely normative conceptions of cosmopolitanism and, on the other, approaches that reduce cosmopolitanism to the empirical expression of diversity. He attempts to take cosmopolitan theory beyond the largely Western context with which it has generally been associated, claiming that cosmopolitan analysis must now take into account non-Western expressions of cosmopolitanism.

Pathologies of Reason: On the Legacy of Critical Theory

Abstract: Preface1. The Irreducibility of Progress: Kant's Account of the Relationship Between Morality and History2. A Social Pathology of Reason: On the Intellectual Legacy of Critical Theory3. Reconstructive Social Criticism with a Genealogical Proviso: On the Idea of "Critique" in the Frankfurt School4. A Physiognomy of the Capitalist Form of Life: A Sketch of Adorno's Social Theory5. Performing Justice: Adorno's Introduction to Negative Dialectics6. Saving the Sacred with a Philosophy of History: On Benjamin's "Critique of Violence"7. Appropriating Freedom: Freud's Conception of Individual Self-Relation8. "Anxiety and Politics": The Strengths and Weaknesses of Franz Neumann's Diagnosis of a Social Pathology9. Democracy and Inner Freedom: Alexander Mitscherlich's Contribution to Critical Social Theory10. Dissonances of Communicative Reason: Albrecht Wellmer and Critical TheoryAppendix: Idiosyncrasy as a Tool of Knowledge: Social Criticism in the Age of the Normalized IntellectualNotesBibliography

Cultural Theory : An Introduction

Abstract: About this Book. Preface -- What is Culture? What is Cultural Theory? 1. Culture in Classical Social Theory. 2. Culture and Social Integration in the Work of Talcott Parsons. 3. Culture as Ideology in Western Marxism. 4. Culture as Action in Symbolic Interactionism, Phenomenology, and Ethnomethodology. 5. The Durkheimians: Ritual, Classification, and the Sacred. 6. Structuralism and the Semiotic Analysis of Culture. 7. The Poststructural Turn. 8. Culture, Structure, and Agency: Three Attempts at Synthesis. 9. British Cultural Studies. 10. The Production and Reception of Culture. 11. Culture as Text: Narrative and Hermeneutics. 12. Psychoanalytic Approaches to Culture and the Self. 13. The Cultural Analysis of Postmodernism and Postmodernity. 14. Postmodern and Poststructural Critical Theory. References.

Social Theory: Twenty Introductory Lectures

Abstract: Introduction 1. What is theory? 2. The classical attempt at synthesis: Talcott Parsons 3. Parsons on the road to normativist functionalism 4. Parsons and the elaboration of normativist functionalism 5. Neo-utilitarianism 6. Interpretive approaches (1): symbolic interactionism 7. Interpretive approaches (2): ethnomethodology 8. Conflict sociology and conflict theory 9. Habermas and critical theory 10. Habermas' 'theory of communicative action' 11. Niklas Luhmann's radicalization of functionalism 12. Anthony Giddens' theory of structuration and the new British sociology of power 13. The renewal of Parsonianism and modernization theory 14. Structuralism and poststructuralism 15. Between structuralism and theory of practice: the cultural sociology of Pierre Bourdieu 16. French anti-structuralists (Cornelius Castoriadis, Alain Touraine and Paul Ricoeur) 17. Feminist social theories 18. A crisis of modernity? New diagnoses (Ulrich Beck, Zygmunt Bauman, Robert Bellah, and the debate between liberals and communitarians) 19. Neopragmatism 20. How things stand Bibliography.

The Role of Religion, Spirituality and Faith in Development: a critical theory approach

Abstract: Religion, spirituality and faith have suffered from long-term and systematic neglect in development theory, policy making and practice, although there has been a noticeable turnover the past 10 years. This paper explores the role of religion, spirituality and faith in development in the past, present and future by applying three core concepts from critical theory—grounding of knowledge in historical context, critique through dialectical process, and identification of future potentialities for emancipation and self-determination. It concludes that religion, spirituality and faith have a role to play in the future of development, particularly in ensuring that it is appropriate and sustainable. The paper also serves to counter critics who claim that critical theory has no resonance to contemporary social research.

Critical Theory of World Risk Society: A Cosmopolitan Vision

Abstract: A critical theory of world risk society must address at least three questions: (1) What is the basis of the critique? What is “critical” about this critical theory? (The question of the normative horizon of the world risk society) (2) What are the key theses and core arguments of this theory? Is it an empirical theory of society with critical intent? (3) To what extent does this theory break with the automatisms of modernization and globalization which have taken on a life of their own and rediscover the openness of human action to the future at the beginning of the 21st century political perspectives, cosmopolitan alternatives?

A critical analysis of media discourse on information technology: preliminary results of a proposed method for critical discourse analysis

Abstract: Since the 1980s, there has been a growing body of critical theory in information systems research A central theoretical foundation of this research is Habermas’ theory of communicative action, which focuses on implications of speech and proposes general normative standards for communication Habermas also places particular emphasis on the importance of the public sphere in a democratic society, critiquing the role of the media and other actors in shaping public discourse While there has been growing emphasis on critical discourse analysis (CDA), there has been limited effort to systematically apply Habermas’ validity claims to empirical research Moreover, while critical research in information systems has examined communication within the organizational context, public discourse on information technology has received little attention The paper makes three primary contributions: (1) it responds to Habermas’ call for empirical research to ground and extend his theory of communication in every day critical practice; (2) it proposes an approach to applying Habermas’ theory of communication to CDA; and (3) it extends the reach of critical research in information systems beyond micro-level organizational concerns and opens up to critical reflection and debate on the impact of systematically distorted communication about technology in the public sphere

Girly Girls Can Play Games / Las Niñas Pueden Jugar Tambien: Co-Creating a Curriculum of Possibilities With Fifth-Grade Girls

Abstract: Drawing on feminist, poststructural, and critical theories, the purpose of this research was to understand 5th-grade girls’ self-identified barriers to physical activity and work with them to find ways of negotiating those barriers in order to increase their physical activity opportunities. We worked with 11 girls in two elementary schools in southwestern United States. Data were collected over the 2005–2006 school year. Data sources included (a) 23 transcribed audio recordings, (b) field notes, (c) planning notes, (d) task sheets, (e) artifacts created by the girls and the principal investigator, and (f) photos the girls took. Our interpretations are presented in two sections. First, the girls explained that being a “girly girl” hindered their activity participation because a “girly girl” does not want to “sweat,” “mess up her hair and nails,” “mess up her nice clothes,” and sometimes wears “flip-flops.” Second, we discuss how we and the girls created a curriculum of possibilities that culminated in deve...

Beyond Communication. A Critical Study of Axel Honneth's Social Philosophy

Abstract: Few thinkers have made such significant contribution to social and political thinking over the last three decades as Axel Honneth. His theory of recognition has rejuvenated the political vocabulary and allowed Critical Theory to move beyond Habermas. Beyond Communication is the first full-scale study of Honneth's work, covering the whole range of his writings, from his first sociological articles to the latest publications. By relocating the theory of recognition within the tradition of European social theory, the book exposes the full depth and breadth of Honneth's philosophical intervention. The book will be an indispensable resource for anyone interested in contemporary philosophy and the social sciences.

Toward a critical pedagogy of engagement for alienated youth: insights from Freire and school‐based research

Abstract: Although alienation is widely recognized as a barrier to educational success for many students, prevailing explanations tend to focus on psychological traits and individual deficits, rather than the oppressive economic and social structures bearing down on young people. This paper addresses the issues of youth alienation and student engagement from a critical/sociological perspective. Informed by Paulo Freire's philosophy and praxis, I argue that any meaningful response to the phenomenon requires a critique of the dehumanizing forces that operate within and outside schools and the development of a renewed project for a critical pedagogy that is more attuned to the influences of globalization and popular culture on young people's lives. The practical possibilities, limitations and potential development of such a pedagogy is discussed with reference to a cluster of Australian high schools serving low socioeconomic communities.

Race, interest convergence, and transfer outcomes for black male student athletes

Abstract: Critical Race Theory is used to consider the educational outcomes that could accrue when the interests of black male student athletes converge productively with the interests of community college administrators, faculty, and coaches.

Latcrit Educational Leadership and Advocacy: Struggling Over Whiteness as Property in Texas School Finance

Abstract: In this article, the author seeks to re-imagine the political and policy roles of educational leaders of color, offering an alternative method for educational leadership, advocacy, and policy analysis. The author uses critical race theory (CRT) and Latina/o critical (LatCrit) theory to problematize the way politically-active Mexican American educational leaders used personal and professional experiences to conceptualize racism and organize politically in the context of the debate over school finance equity in Texas. The findings suggest that a prevalent negation of critical raced leadership, analysis, and advocacy among the participants disadvantages Latina/o communities and de-legitimizes Latina/o political voices. The author envisions an alternative educational leadership framework centered on LatCrit theory's call for contextualized, historical, and critical analysis.

Animals in Schools: Processes and Strategies in Human-Animal Education

Abstract: "Animals in Schools" explores important questions in the field of critical animal studies and education by close examination of a wide range of educational situations and classroom activities. How are human-animal relations expressed and discussed in school? How do teachers and students develop strategies to handle ethical conflicts arising from the ascribed position of animals as accessible to human control, use, and killing? How do schools deal with topics such as zoos, hunting, and meat consumption? These are questions that have profound implications for education and society. They are graphically described, discussed and rendered problematic based on detailed ethnographic research and are analyzed by means of a synthesis of perspectives from critical theory, gender and postcolonial thought. "Animals in Schools" makes human-animal relations a crucial issue for pedagogical theory and practice. In the various physical and social dimensions of the school environment, a diversity of social representations of animals are produced and reproduced. These representations tell stories about human-animal boundaries and identities and bring to the fore a complex of questions about domination and subordination, normativity and deviance, rationality and empathy as well as possibilities of resistance and change.

Educação ambiental crítica: do socioambientalismo às sociedades sustentáveis

Abstract: The article is a reflection about the historical and theoretical contexts of the creation of environmental education in Brazil, from the perspective of what came to be called Critical Environmental Education. Starting from the theoretical and conceptual framework of political ecology, of critical theory, and of complexity thinking, the text problematizes the origins and the political-cultural unfolding, the arguments and social movements that have shaped this pedagogical trend of such marked presence in the Brazilian educational and environmental reality. The methodological path traversed here revisits and systematizes the literature pertaining to this new field of knowledge and action, and dialogues with our doctorate research which, for almost a decade, observed in loco the recent education initiatives in the field of environmental education in Brazil, following various events in this area, and interviewing significant sources of information belonging to social movements, public bodies and academic sectors associated with this field. In doing so, this article investigates the debate, the differentiation and the internal disputes in the field of environmental education in Brazil, the process of constitution of the socio-environmentalism that positions itself in opposition to a different conservationist trend in environmental education, and the construction of a critique to an education for the sustainable development - ESD, proposed by UNESCO and other sectors interested in the keeping of the status quo and in a sustainability oriented by market forces. It thereby highlights, under a historical perspective, the philosophical origins, the political-pedagogical positions, and the social forces that inspired the emergence of critical environmental education, as well as the decisive contributions that this process made to the ethic and political progress in the relations between education, society and environment in Brazil.

Critical media studies 2.0: An interactive upgrade

Abstract: When it comes to the revolutionary promise of participatory media, the challenge faced by the proponents and practitioners of a Critical Media Studies 2.0 is not to assert (in all too familiar rhetoric) that, ‘everything has changed,’ but rather to explain why, even in the face of dramatic technological transformation, power relations remain largely unaltered. This essay explores some of the ways in which the social context has shifted to absorb and deflect the critical potential of interactive media and traces the outlines of a critical project for Media Studies in the digital era. In particular, it argues that the automatic equation of interactivity with political critique and democratic empowerment represents an outdated way of thinking about the social role of information and communication technologies. Interactivity isn’t automatically political – it needs to be made political if it is to live up to its promised potential. Consequently, critical Media Studies needs to develop new practices of sense making, an updated theory of exploitation, and a political economy for the digital era.

Social Theory in the Twentieth Century and Beyond

Abstract: Preface to the Second Edition Introduction 1. A Timeless Order and its Achievement: Structuralism and Genetic Structuralism 2. The Biological Metaphor: Functionalism and Neo-functionalism 3. The Enigma of Everyday Life: Symbolic Interactionism, the Dramaturgical Approach and Ethnomethodology 4. The Invasion of Economic Man: From Rational Choice Theory to the New Institutionalism 5. As Sociology meets History: Giddens's Structuration Theory and Historical Sociology 6. The History of the Present: Foucault's Archaeology and Genealogy 7. The Spread of Reason: Habermas's Critical Theory and Beyond 8. A Brave New World?: Current Trends in Social Theory 9. Conclusion: Social Theory for the Twenty-First Century

Critical Social Work: Theories and practices for a socially just world

Abstract: PrefaceList of ContributorsPart I: Introduction1 Introducing critical theories for social work in a neo-liberal contextPart II: Developing conceptual frameworks for critical social work2 Tracing the origins of critical social work practice3 Theorising new developments in critical social work4 From evidence-based practice to critical knowledge in post-positivist social work 5 Promoting a human rights perspective on critical social work6 Doing critical social workPart III: Resisting domination and oppression7 Towards anti-racist and culturally affirming practices8 Reversing colonial practices with Indigenous peoples9 Reconstructing social work practices with families10 Examining the meaning of childhood in critical social work practice11 Using critical reflection to improve feminist practice12 Challenges and directions for profeminist practice with men13 Empower

Critical Theorists and International Relations

Abstract: A wide range of critical theorists is used in the study of international politics, and until now there has been no text that gives concise and accessible introductions to these figures. Critical Theorists and International Relations provides a wide-ranging introduction to thirty-two important theorists whose work has been influential in thinking about global politics. Each chapter is written by an expert with a detailed knowledge of the theorist concerned, representing a range of approaches under the rubric 'critical', including Marxism and post-Marxism, the Frankfurt School, hermeneutics, phenomenology, postcolonialism, feminism, queer theory, poststructuralism, pragmatism, scientific realism, deconstruction and psychoanalysis. Key features of each chapter include: a clear and concise biography of the relevant thinker an introduction to their key writings and ideas a summary of the ways in which these ideas have influenced and are being used in international relations scholarship a list of suggestions for further reading. Written in engaging and accessible prose, Critical Theorists and International Relations is a unique and invaluable resource for undergraduates, postgraduates and scholars of international relations.

Critical Literacies in Schools : A Primer

Abstract: Readers and writers use a variety of modes of inscription – print, oral and multimedia – to understand, analyze, critique and transform their social, cultural and political worlds Beginning from Freire (1970), ‘critical literacy’ has become a theoretically diverse educational project, drawing from reader response theory, linguistic and grammatical analysis from critical linguistics, feminist, poststructuralist, postcolonial and critical race theory, and cultural and media studies In the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and the US different approaches to critical literacy have been developed in curriculum and schools These focus on social and cultural analysis and on how print and digital texts and discourses work, with a necessary and delicate tension between classroom emphasis on student and community cultural ‘voice’ and social analysis – and on explicit engagement with the technical features and social uses of written and multimodal texts

Through the Prism of Critical Race Theory: "Niceness" and Latina/o Leadership in the Politics of Education.

Abstract: Utilizing a critical race theory (CRT) framework, I conduct a rhetorical and discursive analysis of data from a study of Utah Latino/a educational and political leaders. In analyzing how participants advocate closing the achievement gaps that affect Latina/o and Chicana/o students, I find that participants' political discourse is shaped by concepts such as “niceness,” “respect,” and “decorum,” which ultimately limits their critique and silences the experiences of students in their communities. I argue that CRT scholarship and practice frameworks play a vital role in enacting socially just policies and preparing educational leaders to engage critically in the politics of education.

The Art and Science of Educational Inquiry: Analysis of Performance-Based Focus Groups With Novice Bilingual Teachers

Abstract: Background/ContextFor over two decades, the boundaries between the social sciences and the humanities have become blurred, and numerous articles and books have been written about the infusion of th...

Critical Social Theory and the End of Work

Abstract: This PhD research examines the development and sociological significance of the idea that work is being eliminated through the use of automated production technology. After examining historically, culturally and theoretically contested definitions of the concept of work, it looks at the idea of the abolition of work in Utopian writing, from More to Morris. Next, the argument that Karl Marx, perhaps surprisingly, can be seen as the quintessential end of work theorist, is presented. At the centre of the project is an analysis of Herbert Marcuse's contribution to debates around the end of work. A discussion of Andre Gorz follows, with particular attention to the parallels in Marcuse and Gorz's approach. As part of the next chapter, the way ideas about the end of work have surfaced at a practical level, including the so called 'revolt against work' in 1970's North America, is addressed. This is followed by an examination of how ideas about the future of work were expressed during the 1970's and 80's. The thesis moves on to examine the notion of the end of work from a different perspective; having so-far looked at the end of work as a social phenomenon, the project will survey the arguments around the move away from work as a sociological category; this chapter engages with postmodernism and the supposed move from the 'metaphysic of labour' to the 'metaphysic of consumption'. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the status of theories of the end of work as critical theories which address changing social, cultural and economic conditions.

Global Modernization, `Coloniality' and a Critical Sociology for Contemporary Latin America

Abstract: This article analyses recent social, cultural and political developments in Latin America, with special reference to the `modernity/coloniality' project, as well as offering an alternative sociolog...

Critical Development Theory: moving out of the twilight zone

Abstract: Since the onslaught of neoliberal triumphalism from the 1980s onwards, critical development theory increasingly found itself in a sort of academic twilight zone. With few exceptions development research became characterised by an emphasis on empiricism, quantitative methodologies and policy-oriented project evaluations. Interpreting Third World problems in terms of the inner logic and shifting contradictions of a globalising capitalism was limited to those situated in the critical theory twilight zone. However, a process of rethinking development research set in some time ago. This process has been accelerating since the end of 2008, when neoliberalism started to lose most of its triumphalism because of the globalising financial and economic crisis. The current article focuses specifically on a number of challenges which have to be faced by critical theory when leaving the twilight zone.