CPLS GU4334 After the Linguistic Turn: Critical Theory, Materialism and the Domination of Nature
Program: Institute for the Study of Literature and Society
Subfield: Psychoanalytic Studies Program
Course Type: Lecture
Course Requirements: Completion of Reading Assignments; Regular attendance; Participation in Class discussions; Undergraduates are required to submit a 7-10 page midterm and a 7-10 page final paper; Graduate students are required to submit a 15-20 page research paper due at the end of the Semester; Students’ grades will be based ¾ on Papers and ¼ on class Participation.
Course Description:
The domination of nature was a central topic for the first generation of the Frankfurt School but as a result of the way that Jürgen Habermas has transformed the project it has virtually disappeared from current discussions in Critical Theory. This is especially striking in light of the fact that the environmental crisis is one of the most urgent issues on our contemporary moral and political agenda.
In this course, we will attempt to rehabilitate the domination as a central topos for Critical Theory. To accomplish this, the old Frankfurt School problematic will be re-appropriated and reinterpreted it in terms of recent developments in philosophy, evolutionary biology, primate research and neuropsychology.
