Critical Social Theory: The Dialectic of Enlightenment &
The Aesthetic Critique of Modernity
PROFESSOR:
Chris Latiolais, Chair
Philosophy Department
Kalamazoo College
Humphrey House, Office 201
Telephone: 337-7076
Offices Hours:
 Tuesday: 10:00- 11:00
 Thursday: 10:00 - 11:00
 By Appointment
COURSE GOALS:
This course introduces students to the Frankfurt School of Social Research and Criticism,
a tradition of thought known as “Critical Social Theory” that has matured through several
different generations. The core idea and driving force of critical social theory is quite basic: link
philosophical theories of social development with empirical studies of contemporary society for
the purpose of identifying and initiating agents of ameliorative social change. In the first part of
the course, we familiarize ourselves with the first-generation theorists Max Horkheimer and
Theodor Adorno, the authors of the famous Dialectic of Enlightenment, who offer a pessimistic
alternative to Marx’s optimistic prospect of proletarian revolution outlined in his historical
materialism. We quickly turn to Adorno’s later work on the role of art in modern, technological
societies. Adorno’s pessimistic assessment of Western rationality in the Dialectic of
Enlightenment forced him to seek “reconciliation” or potential social amelioration in the domain
of autonomous art, a sort of last refuge for utopian aspirations. In turning to art as the last and
sole repository of utopian aspirations amidst the devastation of WW II, Adorno re-asserts the
“aesthetic critique of modernity” initiated before him by Friedrich Schiller and the German
romantics. It’s this aesthetic orientation of critical social theory that we will pursue throughout
the course, an approach to social criticism that underscores the importance of art in addressing
issues of social amelioration. While Adorno’s account of Western rationality has been rightly
criticized from many quarters – most notably from the second-generation theorist Juergen
Habermas – Adorno’s aesthetic theory remains remarkably resilient against such criticism,
capturing the imagination of critical social theorists from all three generations. We will examine
Habermas’s devastating criticism of Horkheimer and Adorno’s concept of rationality and his
corresponding skepticism regarding Adorno’s conception of the emancipatory role of art.
Although still controversial, Habermas’s conception of communicative rationality and social
development defines, to a large extent, how critical social theorists look at contemporary social
complexity. We will examine how the aesthetic critique of modernity – which Habermas
criticizes in his The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity – is being re-asserted and revitalized,
precisely to criticize the restrictive conception of aesthetic rationality defended by Habermas.
Habermas’s differentation of various spheres of rationality – theoretical, practical, and
aesthetic – and functional systems – capitalist economy and bureaucratized state – largely define
how contemporary social theorists conceive of modern social complexity. Nevertheless, Thirdgeneration theorist such as Axel Honneth, Albecht Wellmer, and Martin Seel criticize Habermas
for misunderstanding the potential emancipatory function of aesthetic rationality. We will
examine Axel Honneth’s alternative ideal of “undamaged identities” to Habermas’ ideal of
“undistorted communication,” and we will also examine Wellmer’s far-reaching account of how
art effects a world-disclosive function that reshuffles and recalibrates both theoretical and
practical rationality. Martin Seel, however, will figure as the course’s central philosopher on
aesthetic and the philosophy of art. We will read his recently translated The Aesthetics of
Appearing as a friendly corrective to Habermas’s account of modern communicative rationality.
Martin Seel will be on campus for a conference devoted to his works of aesthetics during spring
term, and the class is required to participate in this important event.
EVALUATION:
Students will be evaluated on the basis of class participation, vocabulary quizzes,
midterm examinations and a final paper.
Participation:
Quizzes
Midterm Papers
Final Paper
Breakdown of Points of Evaluation
Classroom discussion, office15%
hour conferences, email
correspondence, and
discussion with classmates
6@5=
30%
2 @ 15 =
30%
1 @ 25% =
25%
POLICIES:
Students are expected to follow the reading schedule and to come to class prepared to
actively discuss the texts they have read. More specifically, students must bring their texts to
class with marginal notes, highlighted or underlined passages of particular importance, and pages
marked where they have encountered difficulties in understanding the material. Quizzes offer
students the opportunity to identify and to clarify central terms and concepts. The midterm
assignments allow students to write essays on key philosophical issues and arguments, and the
final paper offers students the opportunity to respond in depth to a single topic. The final paper is
due on the day scheduled for the final examination. The following are basic policies:
 3 unexcused absences will result in a full course grade reduction (exceptions allowed
only with proper documentation).
 Late papers are marked down a half grade per day (exceptions allowed only with proper
documentation)
 No active electronic devices such as computers, mobile phones, Blackberries,
Blueberries, or any other electronic fruits and vegetables are permitted in the classroom,
although tape recorders are permitted.
 All documented disabilities will happily be accommodated upon the student’s request.
 An act of plagiarism result in a failing grade for the specific assignment. A second act
will result in an F course grade.
 During seminar discussions, students must attend to the person holding the floor,
responding to his or her contribution. In other words, no one-on-one lateral comments,
which divert attention from the ongoing discussion.
 3 unexcused absences will result in a full grade reduction.
 Late papers will be marked down a half grade for the first day and a full grade for the
second day. All work must be turned in at the end of term, unless alternative
assignments have been given by the instructor.
REQUIRED TEXTS:

Bernstein, Richard J. ed. Habermas and Modernity. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The
MIT Press, 1985.
 Honneth, Axel. Disrespect: The Normative Foundations of Critical Theory. Cambridge,
United Kingdom: Polity Press 2007.
 Seel, Martin. The Aesthetics of Appearing. Trans. John Farrell. Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press, 2005.
 Wellmer, Albrecht. The Persistence of Modernity: Essays on Aesthetics, Ethics and
Postmodernism. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1991.
 Course Packet:
o Martin Jay:
 “The Genesis of Critical Theory,” from The Dialectical Imagination: A
History of the Frankfurt School and Social Research, 1923-1950.
 “Aesthetic Theory and the Critique of Mass Culture,” from The
Dialectical Imagination: A History of the Frankfurt School and Social
Research, 1923-1950.
o Albrecht Wellmer:
 “Adorno, Modernity, and the Sublime,” from Endgames: The
Irreconcilable Nature of Modernity.
 “Reason, Utopia, and the Dialectic of Enlightenment,” from Habermas
and Modernity.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
 Goodman, Nelson & Elgin, Catherine. Reconceptions in Philosophy and other Arts and
Sciences (with). Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett, 1988
 Zuidervarrt, Lambert. Art in Public: Politics, Economics, and a Democratic Culture
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press, 2011).
 Shiner, Larry. The Invention of Art: A Cultural History. Chicago, Illinois: University of
Chicago Press. 2001.
 Bernstein, J. M. The Fate of Art: Aesthetic Alienation from Kant to Derrida and Adorno
University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992.
 Hammermeister, Kai. The German Aesthetic Tradition. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Cambridge University Press, 2002.
 Zuidervarrt, Lambert. Social Philosophy after Adorno (Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Cambridge University Press, 2007).
 Zuidervarrt, Lambert. Artistic Truth: Aesthetics, Discourse, and Imaginative Disclosure
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
 Zuidervaart, Lambert & Huhn, Tom eds. The Semblance of Subjectivity: Essays in
Adorno’s Aesathetic Theory. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1997.
 Zuidervaart, Lambert. Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory: The Redemption of Illusion.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1993.
GERMAN ACROSS THE CURRICULUM COMPONENT: Selected texts may be read in the
German original. GAC students will be given alternative assignments and weekly tutorials.
BRIDGE READING COMPONENT: Students interested in linking course material to their
major course of study will be given special readings and assignments. Tutorial meetings are
required, and the final paper must be completed in consultation with professor in home
department.
READING SCHEDULE