Module Directory

Discover what is probably the most influential and significant tradition of critical social philosophy to have emerged within twentieth-century European philosophy: The Frankfurt School. This tradition continues up to the present day. The module takes either the form of concentrating on some of the leading figures (such as Adorno and Horkheimer, or Habermas, or Honneth), or focusing on specific themes such as alienation, reification, social pathology, progress, capitalism or social freedom. The exact focus will vary from year to year.

The aims of this module are:

• To introduce students to the tradition of Frankfurt School critical theory, including thinkers such as Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Jürgen Habermas, and Axel Honneth.


• To introduce students to historical and contemporary debates about concept such as alienation, reification, progress, capitalism, social pathology, etc.


• To consider the philosophical problems involved in constructing a critical social theory, and in particular the justification of critical judgements concerning contemporary society.


• To assess the extent to which the approaches developed by critical theorists can deliver convincing diagnoses of contemporary society.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to have:

1. A good understanding of the different views on progress in the tradition of the Frankfurt School.


2. A good understanding of the basic assumptions, methods and trajectories of this tradition as a whole.

Skills for your Professional Life (Transferable Skills)

By the end of the module, students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:

1. Define the task in which they are engaged and exclude what is irrelevant.


2. Seek and organise the most relevant discussions and sources of information.


3. Process a large volume of diverse and sometimes conflicting arguments.


4. Compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure.


5. Write and present verbally a succinct and precise account of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications.


6. Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them.


7. Think 'laterally' and creatively - see interesting connections and possibilities and present these clearly rather than as vague hunches.


8. Maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position if shown wrong.


9. Think critically and constructively.

MA students from other courses may take this module as an option, provided they have the prior approval of their PGT Director and module Supervisor.

Discover what is probably the most influential and significant tradition of critical social philosophy to have emerged within twentieth-century European philosophy: The Frankfurt School. This tradition continues up to the present day.

This module will be delivered via:

• One 2-hour seminar per week.
• One Reading Week.

Discussion will be encouraged throughout.