Uncritical Theory

"It is in response to Baudrillard and other proponents of the so-called postmodern condition that Christopher Norris has written this extended essay.

The SAGE Handbook of Frankfurt School Critical Theory expounds the development of critical theory from its founding thinkers to its contemporary formulations in an interdisciplinary setting. It maps the terrain of a critical social theory, expounding its distinctive character vis-a-vis alternative theoretical perspectives, exploring its theoretical foundations and developments, conceptualising its subject matters both past and present, and signalling its possible future in a time of great uncertainty. Taking a distinctively theoretical, interdisciplinary, international and contemporary perspective on the topic, this wide-ranging collection of chapters is arranged thematically over three volumes: Volume I: Key Texts and Contributions to a Critical Theory of Society Volume II: Themes Volume III: Contexts This Handbook is essential reading for scholars and students in the field, showcasing the scholarly rigor, intellectual acuteness and negative force of critical social theory, past and present.

Investigating Karl Popper’s philosophy of critical rationalism, Critical Rationalism and the Theory of Society, Volume 1, explores a non-justificationist conception of critical reason and its fundamental outcomes for the theory of society. Through a set of fundamental contributions to epistemology, the theory of rationality and sociology, this volume (a) situates the idea of critical rationalism in its true epistemological context, (b) uses non-justificationist epistemology to reinvent critical rationalism and (c) applies its revised concept of rationality to show how people’s access to critical reason enables them to agree on the common values and social institutions necessary for a peaceful and just social order. These contributions lead the reader to a new epistemological understanding of the idea of critical rationalism and recognition of how a non-justificational concept of reason changes the content of the theory of society. The reader also learns how thinkers, movements and masses apply their critical reason to replace an established social order with an ideal one through activating five types of driving forces of social change: metaphysical, moral, legal, political and economic. Written for philosophers and sociologists, this book will appeal to social scientists such as moral philosophers, legal scholars, political scientists and economists.

The new essays in this collection examine newer forms of colonialism operating today in an increasingly globalized world. Recognizing the complexities and culpability of postcolonial politics, the contributors fill gaps that exist at theoretical levels of postcolonial studies. By studying film, literature, history and architecture, they arrive at new ideas about immigration, gender, cultural translation, identity and the future. The collection is driven by notions of ethics, an increasingly influential force at the grassroots if not the international level, addressing capitalism and its attendant drawbacks throughout the course of the book.

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 Pt. 1 Traditional and Critical Theory 1 Promise: Toward a Critical Theory of Society 9 2 Impasse: Emancipatory Politics After Auschwitz 29 3 Redemption: Renewing the Critical Project 53 Pt. 2 Traditional and Critical Security Studies 4 Theory: Reconceptualizing Security 93 5 Technology: Reconceptualizing Strategy 125 6 Emancipation: Reconceptualizing Practice 145 Epilogue 165 Bibliography 169 Index 187 About the Book 191.

"Will be a very useful tool for any student trying to make sense of the vast expanses of contemporary cultural theory and criticism. Well-written and admirably self-reflective, it combines rigorous explications and applications of many of the most influential concepts and theorists." - Lawrence Grossberg, University of North Carolina "Accessible and insightful throughout; offering help to both experienced and inexperienced students of cultural theory. Highly recommended." - John Storey, University of Sunderland Doing Cultural Theory teaches more than just the basics of cultural theory. It unpacks its complexities with real-life examples, and shows readers how to link theory and practice. This book: Offers accessible introductions to how cultural studies has engaged with key theories in structuralism, poststructuralism and postmodernism Teaches straightforward ways of practising these theories so students learn to think for themselves Uses ′practice′ boxes to show students how to apply cultural theory in the real world Guides students through the literature with carefully selected further reading recommendation. Other textbooks only show how others have analyzed and interpreted the world. Doing Cultural Theory takes it a step further and teaches students step-by-step how to do cultural theory for themselves.

As the theoretical alignments within academia shift, this book introduces a surprising variety of realism to abolish the old positivist-theory dichotomy that has haunted Art History. Demanding frankly the referential detachment of the objects under study, the book proposes a stratified, multi-causal account of art history that addresses postmodern concerns while saving it from its errors of self-refutation. Building from the very basic distinction between intransitive being and transitive knowing, objects can be affirmed as real while our knowledge of them is held to be fallible. Several focused chapters address basic problems while introducing philosophical reflection into art history. These include basic ontological distinctions between society and culture, general and “special” history, the discontinuity of cultural objects, the importance of definition for special history, scales, facets and fiat objects as forms of historical structure, the nature of evidence and proof, historical truth and controversies. Stressing Critical Realism as the stratified, multi-causal approach needed for productive research today in the academy, this book creates the subject of the ontology of art history and sets aside a theoretical space for metaphysical reflection, thus clarifying the usually muddy distinction between theory, methodology, and historiography in art history.

This book summarizes the body of knowledge about sociology of education and cultural studies as it informs educational research and critical pedagogy. It synthesizes the most relevant work in social and cultural reproduction published in the last three decades in English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. The authors document and critique the theoretical discussion in developments in both advanced societies and peripheral ones, and link macro-sociological issues with social psychological ones. The book introduces theories of the state to underscore a political sociology of education, and highlights an agenda for theory building, research, and practice in sociology of education.