Introduction to Critical Theory: Dr. Amos Nascimento
Details
Critical theory is a movement in social and political philosophy which maintains that a primary goal of philosophy is to understand and to help overcome the social structures through which people are dominated and oppressed. In contrast to traditional theory which focuses on understanding or explaining society, critical theory is oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole. Critical theory is best known through its first generation of philosophers, the Frankfurt school, who analyzed a wide range of subjects - from Hollywood to the Holocaust.
Dr. Amos Nascimento will give a short lecture on critical theory followed by Q and A. We will focus on the first generation of critical theorists, the Frankfurt school, and in particular the philosopher Theodore Adorno. We will also briefly address the work of modern critical theorists, such as Nancy Fraser (who was recently in Seattle for numerous events).
THERE WILL BE A CRITICAL THEORY READING GROUP STARTING LATER THIS YEAR.
Dr. Nascimento is a professor at UW-Tacoma. Prof. Nascimento studied music, social sciences, and philosophy in Argentina, Brazil, the United States and Germany. He received his doctorate in philosophy from the J.W. Goethe Universität in Frankfurt, Germany, where he studied with perhaps the most famous living German philosopher, Jurgen Habermas, and the current director of the Institute of Social Research, Axel Honneth. His work focuses on critical theory/discourse ethics and its applications to morality and politics (especially human rights and cosmopolitanism) as well as to cultural and environmental issues.
Some links on critical theory:
Encylopedia articles:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/critical-theory/
https://www.iep.utm.edu/frankfur/
Relevance of critical theory today: