The first decision to make before seeking a graduate program that will train you in Critical Theory is to decide which more general discipline you want to enter, and prepare yourself as best you can for that broader mastery of said field you will gain in a doctoral program. That is, if you want to study with an intellectual historian who has written on the Frankfurt School--and here I'm speaking from personal experience--you have to impress the admissions committee that you are first and foremost interested in the discipline of History as such. You will, after all, have several other fields on your orals besides intellectual history, and should be genuinely excited about immersing yourself in them. The same goes for training as, say, a sociologist, a literary critic or a philosopher, to mention other possible disciplines where you might want to apply and develop some of the insights of Critical Theory. If, in other words, you don't enjoy the close reading of literary texts, all the theoretical insights you get from studying Adorno, Benjamin, Marcuse or Lowenthal will hover above the subject matter that you and your fellow graduate students will be expected to interpret with sophistication. Critical Theory may have interdisciplinary roots and ambitions, but you have to begin by becoming competent in a specific field before you can move beyond it. Even when there is a program in Critical Theory per se at a university, such as the "designated emphasis" at Berkeley, you will be expected to bring to it the special training you've already gotten in a specific field, which will also be the likely framework for your job hunt at the end of your training.

The second decision involves finding a program that is robust enough in general to provide you the environment where you can prosper. This means a distinguished faculty in several sub-fields, a strong and talented cohort of fellow grad students, and enough fellowship support and teaching opportunities to make it possible to feel that it was worth it all, even when you face the daunting challenges of finding a job when you go on the market. You need a critical mass of mentors and fellow students to avoid the isolation that might make grad school an alienating experience. 

The third and perhaps most obvious decision involves finding at least one outstanding scholar whose work you admire and who expresses an interest in training you. This means reaching out to, perhaps even visiting possible candidates, and seeing how they respond to your questions. If they have written on Critical Theory in the past, are they still interested in it now and in the future? Will they still be around for the full term of your graduate training, or are they planning to retire or leave for other reasons? Have they successfully mentored other students and helped launch their careers? Can they put you in touch with current students in the program who might give you a candid insight into what to expect should you come there? Are there other sympathetic faculty in the department with whom you might also work?

Finally, it is probably unwise to present yourself as someone with a fixed dissertation topic already in hand. Unlike in some European systems, where you are expected to hit the ground running and won't have to do course work, in the US, you will have to spend something like three years in courses or general reading before starting a focused dissertation. In that period, you will be exposed to lots of possible influences and your interests may shift. You need to convey to an admissions committee and prospective mentor that you are open to what you will learn in their program rather than the impression that you are prematurely fixated on a particular topic. In other words, stay true to the non-dogmatic spirit of Critical Theory even when it applies to your own loyalty to the tradition.

—Martin Jay

Ehrman Professor of European History Emeritus

University of California, Berkeley

USA

October 1, 2022

Citation: Martin Jay, "The first decision to make before seeking a graduate program that will train you in Critical Theory is..." (2022), Studying Critical Theory, ed. Andrew T. Lamas (Philadelphia, PA: International Herbert Marcuse Society, www.marcusesociety.org).

Advice to a Young Student 

Interested in Critical Theory

Imaculada Kangussu

• leia Eros e Civilização, de Marcuse ... é O Livro sobre uma vida civilizada;

• leia as Passagens, de Benjamin ... para entender como a forma terrível do mundo em que vivemos foi formada; 

• leia Dialética do esclarecimento, de Adorno e Horkheimer ...e observe como eles colocam a linguagem de joelhos para expressar (ex-pressar, tirar da pressão) o que desejam;

• leia o que mais você precisar para entender os livros acima mencionados e, por favor, sinta-se à vontade em me consultar sempre que julgar necessário; e,

• leia literatura, ouça música e dance, para manter o equilíbrio.

"If a young student, interested in Critical Theory, asked me for advice about where to begin, I would say:"

• read Marcuse's Eros and Civilization ... it's THE book about a civilized life;

• read Benjamin's Passagenwerk (The Arcades Project) ... to understand how the terrible shape of the world in which we are living has been formed;

• read Adorno and Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enlightment ... and watch how they bring language to its knees to express what they want to reveal;

• read whatever else is necessary to enhance your understanding of the three books mentioned above, and, please, do not hesitate to contact me for assistance; and, 

• read literature, listen to music, and dance—to keep in balance.

—Imaculada Kangussu

Professor of Philosophy

 Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto

BRASIL

October 20, 2022

Citation: Imaculada Kangussu, "Advice to a Young Student Interested in Critical Theory," (2022), Studying Critical Theory,ed. Andrew T. Lamas  (Philadelphia, PA: International Herbert Marcuse Society, www.marcusesociety.org).

Citation: Charles Reitz, "Critical Theory and Higher Learning," (2022), Studying Critical Theory, ed. Andrew T. Lamas (Philadelphia, PA: International Herbert Marcuse Society, www.marcusesociety.org).

Critical Theory and Literary Studies

Robert T. Tally Jr.

Critical theory is not only “interdisciplinary,” as we tend to use that term, but it also involves both the critique and the theorizing of disciplines. That is, the “rationalization” of knowledge and of society at large constitutes part of the project of critical theory, from its roots in Kantian Kritik through the Frankfurt School and Herbert Marcuse’s analysis of “one-dimensional society” in the twentieth century to social and cultural criticism of today’s multivalenced, global system. Marxism, in particular, has always labored to make and to show the connections between politics, economics, culture, science, art, religion, and so on, and beyond the pragmatic need to study certain areas at certain moments there is a powerful sense that, in order to truly understand the society in which we live, the critical theorist must approach it in its totality. I want to argue that literary studies offers a superb locus from which to engage in this project.

The principal way in which the study of literature distinguishes itself is in its concern for language and its uses, which also turns out to be crucial to critical theory. Literature teaches us to employ language deliberately, to pay attention to diction and syntax, to think on the multiple meanings and nuances of words, to connect disparate ideas through such figures of speech as metaphor or allegory, and to examine the relationships between works of the literary imagination (novels, poems, plays, etc.) and the world we live in. Being attuned to matters of language, poetics, aesthetics, and narrative is all the more important today, as there are forces at work that, consciously or not, degrade thought and ultimately limit freedom by their sometimes negligent, sometimes quite intentional use of words, phrases, and stories. As Fredric Jameson has put it, “no society has ever been so mystified in quite so many ways as our own, saturated as it is with messages and information, the very vehicles of mystification.”

George Orwell famously showed in Nineteen-Eighty-Four how “newspeak” and “doublethink” were just as effective as government surveillance and police repression in bolstering Big Brother’s totalitarian society. Orwell was criticizing the increasingly common use of misleading rhetoric and terminology in public discourse, as well as the burgeoning power of the mass media to enforce widespread acceptance of such ideas, thus working against any forms of critical thinking. The Canadian critic Northrop Frye worried that advertising and commercial interests, just as much as repressive political regimes, were dumbing down thought through their unimaginative—and anti-imaginative—use of language, which “stands for cliché,” that is, “ready-made, prefabricated formulas” and “automatic babble,” and which “leads us inevitably from illusion to hysteria.” Jameson has observed that, even in a lot of supposedly well-educated circles, the commitment to so-called “plain speaking” or “ordinary language” in writing is itself ideological, “intended to speed the reader across a sentence in such a way that he can salute a readymade idea in passing,” and thus effectively denying the reader the opportunity to think critically about the material or ideas being presented. By making things “easy to read,” these writers also make it harder to resist, effectively turning the potential argument in their favor in advance. Such uses of language not only dull one’s critical capacities, but dull one’s very imagination, making it all the more difficult to assess the present situation and making it virtually impossible to imagine alternatives.

This is where literature and literary studies comes in. As Frye has put it, “Literature speaks the language of the imagination, and the study of literature is supposed to train and improve the imagination.” At its best, literary studies is thus a form of critical theory and practice, a means by which to comprehend our own world without simply accepting the status quo presented to us. Literature can engender a great love of the world, in its vast diversity and complexity, which is also important for a proper critique of that world and its problems. This is why so many who go into the fields of literary studies speak of their “love” of reading, but to truly love something is not to passively absorb it, but rather to engage meaningfully with all its heterogeneous possibilities. Critique, properly understood, is thus essential to the love of literature.

Students interested in critical theory understandably chafe at the often artificial or merely “professional” strictures imposed by various academic disciplines. English, Comparative Literature, and other departments associated with literary studies certainly have these features as well, but literary works themselves also help us move beyond the strict disciplinarity of the “rationalized society,” for they frequently present glimpses of or even entire worlds in which arts, sciences, social systems, religious and philosophical ideas, and so forth are on display. In some cases, those might include interstellar starships or fire-breathing dragons or ghosts, but there is still the powerful sense of a world system there, one which can in turn empower readers to think critically about our own all-too-real systems and to imagine potential alternatives. That is one reason why Marcuse so heavily emphasized the aesthetic dimension, “as the form of sensitivity of the senses and as the form of the concrete world of human life,” which makes the “productive imagination” possible.

In educating and empowering the imagination, literature and critical theory—literature as critical theory, for that matter—can help us to overcome the tyranny of the actual, of the “what is,” precisely by understanding it and its workings in detail, while never capitulating to its apparent hegemony. Those of us who seek to change the world first need to be able to interpret it, and in doing so, we can encounter what Marcuse called “the scandal of qualitative difference”: not just a slightly better situation but another one entirely. Accordingly, as great literary works have taught us in so many diverse ways and with such vivid examples, we realize that new worlds are possible, new thoughts are possible.

—Robert T. Tally Jr.

Professor of English

Texas State University

USA

May 28, 2023

Citation: Robert T. Tally Jr., "Critical Theory and Literary Studies," (2023), Studying Critical Theory, ed. Andrew T. Lamas (Philadelphia, PA: International Herbert Marcuse Society, www.marcusesociety.org).

How to Study Critical Theory

Joan Braune

The term “Critical Theory” was coined by Max Horkheimer, director of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research. While many academic disciplines and schools of thought have branches deemed “critical,” I take “Critical Theory” in its original meaning here, and offer these six suggestions for those who wish to embark on the work of Critical Theory begun by the Frankfurt School and who are drawn to the field for its radical and revolutionary potential.

1.  Interrogate what is familiar and “normal.”

For example: What popular images, slogans, or aphorisms do you frequently encounter? In what ways might these be maintaining or challenging dominant social structures? Who are the “influencers” you listen to, and why? Consider the institutions with which you yourself have come into contact and their social function. What is the history of the Girl Scouts, the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus, the AFL-CIO, or the YMCA? What realities are hidden behind our experience as workers? As consumers? What do you own that was made by children, enslaved people, or incarcerated people? What does your school or workplace purchase that was made by children, enslaved people, or incarcerated people? In what ways is our society hiding from awareness of troubling and looming threats? How can we overcome willful ignorance and the tendency of routine drudgery to drag us down and distract us from the questions humanity urgently needs to encounter?

2.  Engage deeply with traditions of thought.

Critical Theory is an evolving tradition of thought tied to the Frankfurt School, that is, to the school of thought founded by the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research. To do Critical Theory, you will need to study the classic texts of this tradition, even (or especially) if you see limitations and places where they must be superseded. Study the history of the tradition and be sure to include figures like Erich Fromm, Leo Lowenthal, and others that may have for some time received less attention. Furthermore, you will need to go back to origins; Critical Theory draws from multiple intellectual sources, including Marx and Marxism (including humanist Marxists like Georg Lukács), Max Weber’s sociology, Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis, twentieth century Jewish thought, and “modern” German philosophy from Kant onwards. To understand the latter as well as the general intellectual background of Frankfurt School writers, it is also necessary to develop a working understanding of the dialectical development and key concepts in the history of Western philosophy going back to Plato and Aristotle. Furthermore, look at other ongoing traditions of thought and how Critical Theory intersects, was influenced by, or shows up in those traditions. This includes the Black radical tradition, indigenous thought, and others. Bring traditions into dialogue with one another, see how they overlap or contradict or challenge one another, and be attuned to spaces of, or future opportunities for, “creolizing” and synthesis.

3.  Relate theory to practice.

To be fair, not all ideas must be made to be useful in the way that a tape measure or a stapler is useful. Some ideas are just there to be enjoyed, or even for the experience of wonder or awe they evoke. It is capitalism, after all, that demands that everything be marketable and efficient. That said, Critical Theory at its best is a revolutionary project, not an abstract intellectual exercise. It seeks to understand the world in order to change it, not merely interpret it. It seeks to challenge injustice and ease human suffering, not just impress a journal editor or a tenure committee. Explore how ideas can help dismantle unjust systems and to what extent they might be able to build a bridge to a new kind of society. This also may include finding ways to make some of your intellectual products accessible to non-academic audiences. Critical Theorists like Erich Fromm and Herbert Marcuse modeled intellectual engagement and public activism. Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy drew from Fromm and Marcuse—how can our public scholarship include an element of the “pedagogy of the oppressed,” in which we are both teachers and students?

4.  Keep Critical Theory scary to fascists.

Critical Theory is an inherently antifascist project.

The Frankfurt School was forced to flee Nazi Germany due to their Jewish backgrounds and Marxist politics, and much of their work was about understanding how it was possible that Europe witnessed a rise of fascism when Europe seemed primed for a proletarian revolution.

Many fascists fear Critical Theory, as evidenced by their antisemitic conspiracy theories about “Cultural Marxism.” Critical Theory’s study of the authoritarian personality, escapes from freedom, antisemitic scapegoating, New Age obscurantism, the “jargon of authenticity,” and more, does make Critical Theory dangerous to fascism. Some fascists know that some members of the Frankfurt School even participated in the U.S. war effort during World War II and later in the “denazification” of Germany.

In order to be defeated, fascism needs to be fought and intimidated, not invited over for tea and cookies, nor platformed in order to be “debated in a marketplace of ideas.” We need to actively work to ensure that Critical Theory as an enduring, evolving tradition and set of practices, continues to undermine fascism consistently. This includes carrying on the intellectual work of countering fascism. It also includes drawing boundaries in our disciplines, social circles, and within Critical Theory itself, to make these spaces less hospitable to fascists. Although this should go without saying, it also means not allowing fascists or far-right activists to claim the mantle of Critical Theory. The influence of products such as the journal Telos—whose editor and former editor played a role in the Trump administration and which has been a primary publisher and translator in the U.S. of far-right literature by Alain de Benoist, Aleksandr Dugin, and others—should be challenged rather than ignored.

Intellectuals being pulled into far-right politics in moments of personal crisis is a growing problem today. I think those of us who have been on online long enough know the dynamics to look out for: In other words, in the course of your work, be on guard against those who seem to be offering you a peculiarly warm welcome (or “love bombing” you) simply because you are saying something “edgy,” and while it is a bad sign if mainstream neoliberal institutions always agree with you, being widely criticized by the general public also doesn’t automatically mean you are a brave truth-teller. (Intellectual courage and intellectual humility are kindred virtues.) When you feel a need for a sense of belonging that you cannot find among your fellow scholars, seek to cultivate that space of safety and care in real life, in a way that doesn’t leave you vulnerable to ideological or cultic manipulation. Creating this community for others is also a collective task.

5.  Find spaces of interdisciplinary exploration and lively solidarity.

Continuing on the theme of creating a healthy community of support, let me add that Critical Theory is an interdisciplinary (in some ways even anti-disciplinary) enterprise, drawing from fields including Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, History, and the Arts, among others. You will need colleagues outside your academic department and outside your discipline. Furthermore, in seeking to be a field that challenges the status quo, we need joy, life, and community to sustain ourselves. Consider part of your work to be a community-building enterprise, with work for social justice at the center. For example, join a union if you can, participate in some local grassroots activism, and broaden your professional association memberships or conference participation to bring you into contact with scholars in other areas, and people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Cultivate curiosity and joy. To be a revolutionary involves sacrifice, but alienated modern workers are seeking not only a higher wage but a reason to live and to hope. Can we cultivate spaces that engage the joys of art, sports, spirituality, the appreciation of nature, and more?

In turn, let’s seek to make our spaces more welcoming and inclusive of scholars and researchers from marginalized identities or those otherwise excluded in academia. This is an ongoing learning process for everyone. This includes making our conferences more accessible to those with disabilities, low income, and immigration status challenges that inhibit travel. Here’s a simple starter: When you’re at a meeting and someone says, “Do I need to use the mic?”, yell back, “Yes.”

6.  Put Critical Theory under its own lens.

Finally, we cannot let Critical Theory itself escape the work of Critical Theory. Ask questions about Critical Theory itself. How do capitalism and neoliberalism impact what Critical Theorists study, where they are or are not able to find employment, how they do or do not engage with the public, and how they relate theory to practice? Is Critical Theory being “adjusted” to mainstream society, and “defanged” or “declawed”? While some Critical Theorists may face attack for their work, where are we bolstering unjust power that we should be dismantling? And how can we support colleagues under attack or on the frontlines of struggle for change?

Pay attention and be wary when people seem to be reducing Critical Theory’s radical potential, converting it either into a weak notion of liberal identity politics (as opposed to seeing antiracism as inherently linked to anticapitalism, anti-imperialism, and anti-colonialism, for example); a defense of the national security state; or overfriendliness towards right-wing arguments.

***

In conclusion, as a new student of Critical Theory, you must read Critical Theory itself carefully, intently, with an eye to the impacts of diverse approaches. This is not just a group of friends setting out to change the world but a complex field with its own internal divisions. As you can see, I am a defender of a radical Critical Theory against a merely liberal Critical Theory, a watered-down inheritance found for example in the work of Habermas (although Habermas does have some smart things to say and should be read). You must develop your own theory over time of what Critical Theory’s inheritance should be and how to fight for it.

To really fight for Critical Theory involves courage and sacrifice, not simply creating a safe space for its enjoyment. While we draw strength from those who can be our allies, comrades, and supporters—and while we all need safe spaces or the closest thing possible, to fall back upon when times are rough—we also sally forth into an intellectual battle, and we remember that theory itself becomes a material force when it grips the masses (pace Marx).

August 21, 2023

Joan Braune, Ph.D., is Lecturer in Philosophy and Instructor in the Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University (Spokane, Washington, USA). She is author and co-editor of various titles, including two books on Erich Fromm’s critical theory, and two forthcoming books on contemporary fascist movements and the ethics of researching far-right movements.  

Citation: Joan Braune, "How to Study Critical Theory," (2023), Studying Critical Theory, ed. Andrew T. Lamas (Philadelphia, PA: International Herbert Marcuse Society, www.marcusesociety.org).