Critical Social Theory

About

The course introduces students to the ideas of the unorthodox Marxian thinkers known as the Frankfurt School and the Budapest School. Influenced by György Lukács and generally regarded to be an undogmatic movement in Marxist theory, thinkers of the Frankfurt School and the Budapest School developed critical theories which seek to critically examine capitalist society, while giving up Marx’s idea of proletarian revolution. Students will encounter a variety of texts of the leading figures of the Schools: Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Jürgen Habermas, Axel Honneth, Ágnes Heller, Mihály Vajda and György Márkus. Since these philosophers were convinced that modern society can be understood but within an interdisciplinary approach, the course also discusses topics in social theory and cultural studies.
The course endeavours to provide a better understanding of the complex problems discussed in the writings of Critical Theory such as reification, culture industry, critical theory, and emancipation, while it also offers an up-to-date overview of the Western development of Marxism within the context of Continental Philosophy in the 20th century

Course leader

Csaba Olay Full Professor Institute of Philosophy Eötvös Loránd University

Course aim

By the end of this course, students will have gained a good grounding in the critical theory of Frankfurt School and the Budapest School as well as the ability to see their virtues and shortcomings. The course endeavors to provide a better understanding of the complex problems discussed in the writings of Critical Theory such as reification, culture industry, critical theory, and emancipation, while it also offers an up-to-date overview of the Western development of Marxism within the context of Continental Philosophy in the 20th century. Students will also have become more skilled readers of difficult, older texts. They will have further developed their argumentation and writing skills and become better able to articulate their own positions on the key questions

Fee info

tuition fee, course materials, meals (coffee break), opening ceremony and the cost of the leisure time programs, weekend excursions