Research Handbook on Critical Theory

This insightful Research Handbook examines the evolution and continuing relevance of classical critical theory. Expert contributors assess the central concepts and differing research perspectives, providing a panoramic and global overview of this approach and its significance for understanding the present.

Chapters provide an understanding of how the critical theory of capitalist society became influential for its concepts of the culture industry, one-dimensionality, social character and many other socio-political themes. Authors explore how classical theorists and later thinkers created this theory, evaluating its emergence in key topics including aesthetics, class consciousness, liberation and nature. This Research Handbook reconsiders and renews this tradition of research, analysing not only the development of critical theory, but also its applications to contemporary contexts, such as social media or critical media literacy.

The Research Handbook on Critical Theory is a crucial resource for scholars and students of sociology, political science, philosophy and cultural studies. It will also benefit researchers of critical theory looking for a reference point to guide their studies.