Introduction to Critical Theory (220-0-20)
Instructors
Mark Vinzenz Alznauer
847/491-2559
Kresge 3-417
Meeting Info
Harris Hall 107: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
In this class, we will focus on the foundations of critical theory in the works of Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, and Weber, paying particular attention to the methods they deploy in the treatment of moral and religious phenomena. We will conclude with a section on Charles Mills and contemporary Critical Race Theory. Lectures will primarily involve a close analysis and discussion of the readings.
Learning Objectives
Familiarity with several crucial figures in the critical theory tradition.
Class Materials (Required)
Class materials must be purchased.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Marx-Engels Reader, second edition, edited by Richard Tucker (Norton, 1978) ISBN-10: 9780393090406
Friedrich Nietzsche, 'On the Genealogy of Morality' and Other Writings: Revised Student Edition (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) [STUDENT EDITION] ISBN-10: 052169163X/ ISBN-13: 978-0521691635.
Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, edited by Todd Dufresne (Broadview Press) ISBN: 978-1-55481-140-3.
Max Weber, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, ed. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills (Routledge, 2007) ISBN: 978-0415436663 (Note: The older, Oxford edition (1946) is perfectly fine, though out of print.)
Charles Mills, From Class to Race: Essays in White Marxism and Black Radicalism (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003) ISBN 0-7425-1301-7
Class Notes
Final Paper.
Class Attributes
Ethics & Values Distro Area
SDG Reduced Inequality
SDG Peace & Justice
Associated Classes
DIS - Kresge Centennial Hall 2-331: Fri 9:00AM - 9:50AM
DIS - Locy Hall 110: Fri 12:00PM - 12:50PM
DIS - Locy Hall 110: Fri 3:00PM - 3:50PM
DIS - Locy Hall 305: Fri 2:00PM - 2:50PM
DIS - Willard Hall B72: Fri 10:00AM - 10:50AM
DIS - Locy Hall 213: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM