The Institute of Social Research, from which the Frankfurt School developed, was founded in the early years of the Weimar Republic. It survived the Nazi era in exile, to become an important centre of social theory in the postwar era. Early members of the school, such as Adorno, Horkheimer and...

The Institute of Social Research, from which the Frankfurt School developed, was founded in the early years of the Weimar Republic. It survived the Nazi era in exile, to become an important centre of social theory in the postwar era. Early members of the school, such as Adorno, Horkheimer and Marcuse, developed a form of Marxist theory known as Critical Theory, which became influential in the study of class, politics, culture and ideology. The work of more recent members, and in particular Habermas, has received wide attention throughout Europe and North America. Tom Bottomore's study takes a new and controversial look at the contributions of the Frankfurt School to modern sociology, examining several issues not previously discussed elsewhere. He discusses the neglect of history and political economy by the critical theorists, and considers the relationship of the later Frankfurt School to the radical movements of the 1960s and the present time. His critical analysis makes the school's writers accessible, through an assessment of their work and an exploration of the relationship of Critical Theory to other forms of sociological thought, especially positivism and structuralism.

Introduction1. Ernst BlochOn the Original History of the Third ReichNot Hades, but Heaven on EarthHunger, "Something in a Dream"God of Hope, Thing-For-UsMarx and the End of Alienation2. Erich FrommThe Dogma of Christ3. Leo LöwenthalThe Demonic: Project for a Negative Philosophy of Religion4. Herbert...

Introduction1. Ernst BlochOn the Original History of the Third ReichNot Hades, but Heaven on EarthHunger, "Something in a Dream"God of Hope, Thing-For-UsMarx and the End of Alienation2. Erich FrommThe Dogma of Christ3. Leo LöwenthalThe Demonic: Project for a Negative Philosophy of Religion4. Herbert MarcuseLuther, Calvin, Kant5. Theodor AdornoReason and SacrificeReason and RevelationMeditations on Metaphysics6. Max HorkheimerTheism and AtheismThe Jews and EuropeReligion and PhilosophyObservations on the Liberalization of Religion7. Walter BenjaminCapitalism and ReligionTheological-Political FragmentTheses on the Philosophy of History8. Johann Baptiste MetzProductive NoncontemporaneityAnamnestic Reason: A Theologian's Remarks on the Crisis of the Geisteswisesnschaften9. Jurgen HabermasTranscendence from Within, Transcendence in this WorldFaith and Knowledge10. Helmut PeukertEnlightenment and Theology as Unfinished Projects11. Edmund ArensReligion as Ritual, Communicative, and Critical Praxis

Alway identifies and assesses new models of emancipatory politics in the Frankfurt Schools Critical Theory. She outlines the complexities of Critical Theory, and clarifies the logical connections between assumptions that inform the critical theorists' analyses of social conditions and their views on...

Alway identifies and assesses new models of emancipatory politics in the Frankfurt Schools Critical Theory. She outlines the complexities of Critical Theory, and clarifies the logical connections between assumptions that inform the critical theorists' analyses of social conditions and their views on the possibilities for radical political practice.

An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture is widely recognized as an immensely useful textbook for students taking courses in the major theories of popular culture. Strinati provides a critical assessment of the ways in which these theories have tried to understand and evaluate popular culture...

An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture is widely recognized as an immensely useful textbook for students taking courses in the major theories of popular culture. Strinati provides a critical assessment of the ways in which these theories have tried to understand and evaluate popular culture in modern societies.Among the theories and ideas the book introduces are: mann culture, the Frankfurt School and the culture industry, semiology and structuralism, Marxism, feminism, postmodernism and cultural populism.This new edition provides fresh material on Marxism and feminism, while a new final chapter assesses the significance of the theories explained in the book.

"From culture to critique, Kant to Gadamer, Marx to Bourdieu, this detailed & brilliantly argued account of the history, theory, & practice of cultural studies is the best introduction to the subject that we have." Eric Gould University of Denver "An excellent pathway through a diverse field.... The...

"From culture to critique, Kant to Gadamer, Marx to Bourdieu, this detailed & brilliantly argued account of the history, theory, & practice of cultural studies is the best introduction to the subject that we have." Eric Gould University of Denver "An excellent pathway through a diverse field.... The special appeal of this book is to clarify the role of the critic, who is both immanent & transcendent, participant & objective observer alike.... It places current trends from Deconstruction Semiotics into Postmodernism & Poststructuralism in their historical & theoretical background, ranging from Hermeneutics to Marxism. In a truly Renaissance manner, Dr. Surber has incorporated the diverse trends in a loose, yet clear structure." Achim D. Koddermann SUNY at Oneonta

A leading figure in the Frankfurt School of philosophers from the 1930s through the time of his death in 1969, Adorno was the author of influential philosophical and sociological works on issues ranging from aesthetics, music history, and mass culture to politics, modern technology, and the Western...

A leading figure in the Frankfurt School of philosophers from the 1930s through the time of his death in 1969, Adorno was the author of influential philosophical and sociological works on issues ranging from aesthetics, music history, and mass culture to politics, modern technology, and the Western philosophical tradition. Prismatic Thought is a brilliant tour of Adorno's work, with special emphasis on his aesthetic writings. Peter Uwe Hohendahl opens with a pair of chapters that considers Adorno's years of exile in the United States during the Second World War and his return in the early 1950s to a West Germany harrowed by its recent Nazi past and responsibility for the Holocaust. He then examines Adorno's writings on literature, language, poetry, philosophy, and mass culture in relation to modern history. Throughout the book, Hohendahl argues that Adorno's work "ultimately resists the desire for systematic order, the search for a grand design that gives meaning to all the individual texts". Prismatic Thought is distinguished by Hohendahl's sensitivity to the historical and intellectual conditions of Adorno's time and by his mastery of the myriad Adorno studies of the past twenty-five years. Equally important is his description of Adorno's relevance to our own age. In the course of situating Adorno in his own era, Hohendahl introduces us to an Adorno who is also our contemporary.

Robert W. Witkin unpacks Adorno's notoriously difficult critique of popular culture in an engaging and accessible style, looking first at the development of the overarching theories of authority, commodification and negative dialectics. He then goes on to consider Adorno's writing on specific...

Robert W. Witkin unpacks Adorno's notoriously difficult critique of popular culture in an engaging and accessible style, looking first at the development of the overarching theories of authority, commodification and negative dialectics. He then goes on to consider Adorno's writing on specific aspects of popular culture such as radio, film and popular music.