Critical Social Theory

Critical Theory Germany, France, Italy, Brazil & the U.S. : 

Critical Theory Germany, France, Italy, Brazil & the U.S. Dr. V. Agosto USF 1

Intellectual Movements : 

Intellectual Movements Modern Era (Enlightenment 17th 18th C) Critical Theory (1930s Germany, 1960s U.S. and abroad Structuralism (20th century- Mid 1960s): language, signs Poststructuralism: including deconstruction (a form of literary analysis where meaning built on differences) and postmodern thought (post WWII / 1950s). 2

Critical Social Theory : 

Critical Social Theory 3 ‘Critical Social Theory’: includes “various types of scholarship that critique domination and subordination, promote emancipatory interests, and combine social and cultural analysis with interpretation, critique, and social explanation” (Anyon et al., 2009, p. 2). Theory and Educational Research: Toward Critical Social Explanation (2009). Anyon, J., Duman, M., Linville, D., Nolan, K. Perez, M., Tuck, E., & Weiss, J. New York: Routledge.

Strands of Critical Social Theory : 

Strands of Critical Social Theory “Critical social theorists represent many, sometimes conflicting, discourses, including Marxism, poststructuralism, postcolonialism, feminism, cultural studies, and critical race theory, to name just a few”. Most top educational programs across the United States boast at least one critical social theorist, with the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Illinois–Urbana/Champaign, and the University of California–Los Angeles arguably housing the most (Leonardo, 2009 FN). Ed. Researcher (UC Berkeley, Social and Cultural Studies).

Critical (Social) Theory : 

Critical (Social) Theory 5 “[s]eeks to give social agents a critical purchase on what is normally taken for granted…promotes the development of a free and self-determining society by dispelling the illusions of ideology” (Macey, 2000, p. 75). Goal: To preclude the emergence of a society which is ‘administered’- defined by ideological control over its subjects’ desires & feelings - unaware of their unhappiness, frustration, and exploitation. Freer society is possible and ought to be transformed. Theses: Critical theory= form of self-consciousness (guide to emancipatory action).

Tenets of Critical Theory : 

Tenets of Critical Theory Critique of domination Emancipatory interest Social/cultural analysis, explanation & interpretation Methods: critique and dialogue 6

Critical (Social) Theory : 

Critical (Social) Theory Social Reproduction of Inequality Structure: hierarchies; institutional, societal role Agency: Individual, collective Resistance: (forms of) opposition to domination Social-constructionism: realities, truths, sub/obj Class: economy, labor, production, consumption Culture: artifacts, tools Power: types, differentials, privilege Hidden Curriculum: unconscious, unintended 7

Frankfurt School of social Science : 

Frankfurt School of social Science Max Horkheimer (1937) Critical Theory (influenced by Marxism) Critical theory should… be directed at the totality of society in its historical specificity (i.e. how it came to be configured at a specific point in time) improve understanding of society by integrating all the major social sciences, including geography, economics, sociology, history, political science, anthropology, and psychology. 9

Jürgen Habermas : 

Jürgen Habermas In the 1960s defined critical knowledge: Knowledge that enables human beings to emancipate themselves from forms of domination through self-reflection. 10

Brazil : 

Brazil

Paulo Freire (1921-1997) Brazil Wrote Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968 Portugese, 1970 English) : 

Paulo Freire (1921-1997) Brazil Wrote Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968 Portugese, 1970 English) Educational is political Popular Education (anti-colonial) For the “people, masses, peasants” Democracy as educational method Liberation theology Banking concept of education Opposed Teacher/student dichotomy oppressor/oppressed, colonizer/colonized Literacy “Reading the world” Dialogue Problem posing Praxis: reflection, theory, and action Conscientizao (consciousness) 12

Augusto Boal – Brazilian Theatre Director : 

Augusto Boal – Brazilian Theatre Director 1931 – 2009 Theatre of the Oppressed 13 Columbian Hypnosis, Circle of Emotion, Image Theatre, Cops in the Head, Matrix of Oppression (constraint on equitable and excellent education).

Q: How does power shape consciousness? : 

Q: How does power shape consciousness? 15 In order for dominant groups to exercise leadership, large numbers of people must be convinced that the maps of reality circulated by those with the most economic, political, and cultural power are indeed wiser than other alternatives. Dominant groups do this by attaching these maps to the elements of good sense that people have and by changing the very meaning of the key concepts and their accompanying structures of feeling that provide the centers of gravity for our hopes, fears, and dreams about this society (Apple, 2009, p.89)

U.S. Critical Theorists : 

U.S. Critical Theorists Michael Apple Henry Giroux Peter McLaren Joe L. Kincheloe (ed). Multiple Intelligences Reconsidered (2004). Shirley Steinberg Critiques: Excluded race and gender Dominated by white men Centered in European culture (knowledge, language) 16 1950-2008

Slide 17: 

African American Critical Traditions in U.S. Education