Critical Theory (SAGE Formations in Social Thought)

The critical theory of the Frankfurt School continues to be an important influence on many disciplines, ranging from philosophy and social theory to cultural studies and art history. David Rasmussen has collected key classical texts that provide introductions, overviews, and critical interrogations of dominant theorists and positions of the Frankfurt School.

This is a valuable resource that students of contemporary theory should find of use and import

Professor Doug Kellner

George F. Kneller Philosophy of Education Chair, Social Sciences and Comparative Education, UCLA

This is a major assessment of the Frankfurt School and of Critical Theory. Volume I looks at the origins of the School in the 1920 s through to the 1940 s focussing on the key themes - the critique of German idealism, reading of Marx, use of the dialectical methods - and the key thinkers - Horkheimer, Benjamin, Adorno, and Marcuse. In Volume II, the ideas of "critique", of reason, and of rationality are examined - this includes work on the early Frankfurt School as well as issues like society and technology. The focus of Volume III is the literature on subjectivity, ethics, and politics - reviewing socialisation and solidarity; situatedness; morality; and the public sphere. The final volume looks at the future of Critical Theory - the role of social criticism, the relation to postmodernism, to psychology, to aesthetics, feminism and the family, and to religion.

Rich, textured, and systematic - this is a completely up-to-date overview of Critical Theory which will be the standard reference for libraries and scholars of Social Theory