Re-Appropriating Appropriation

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 23-45
Author(s):  
Matthew Wright
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Critical Social

The paper assesses the role of our hermeneutical orientations in the task of exegesis by focusing specifically on the Tri-Polar exegetical framework developed by Jonathan Draper. In conjunction with the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School and other Marxist-influenced theory, the paper then tries to articulate more coherently what the stage of appropriation constitutes and what impact this potentially has socially. In light of the volatile political climate existing presently in South Africa, as well as rising globalisation and consumerism, the paper poses the question of whether the bible can contribute substantially to the formation of a critical social fabric within society.

scholarly journals Social criticism as medical diagnosis? On the role of social pathology and crisis within critical theory

Thesis Eleven ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-126
Author(s):  
Peter J. Verovšek
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Social Criticism ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Social Pathology ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
The Social ◽  
Talking Cure

The critical theory of the Frankfurt School starts with an explanatory-diagnostic analysis of the social pathologies of the present followed by anticipatory-utopian reflection on possible treatments for these disorders. This approach draws extensively on parallels to medicine. I argue that the ideas of social pathology and crisis that pervade the methodological writings of the Frankfurt School help to explain critical theory’s contention that the object of critique identifies itself when social institutions cease to function smoothly. However, in reflecting on the role that reason and self-awareness play in the second stage of social criticism, I contend that this model is actually better conceptualized through the lens of the psychoanalyst rather than the physician. Although the first generation’s explicit commitment to psychoanalysis has dissipated in recent critical theory, faith in a rationalized ‘talking cure’ leading to greater self-awareness of existing pathologies remains at the core of the Frankfurt School.

Queering Sacred Sexual Scripts for Transforming African Societies

2020 ◽  
pp. 80-96
Author(s):  
Sarojini Nadar
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Queer Theory ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Sexual Scripts ◽  
Sexual Expression ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Sacred Sex

Research on sexuality in Africa shows the incontrovertible role of the sacred text of Christianity (the Bible) in condemning forms of sexual expression and identity when they do not conform to the hetero-norm. The Bible thus defines and prescribes what “sacred sex” is. Moreover, scholars explain that the growing presence of fundamentalist religion in Africa, coupled with the myth that “homosexuality is un-African,” serves to entrench homo/transphobic beliefs, even within transforming societies like South Africa. At the same time, a growing body of literature, largely by scholars who draw on masculinity studies and queer theory, responds to the upsurge of homophobia around the globe and in Africa. Elaborating on the “sexual scripting” approach, this essay examines how heteronormative sexuality produces interpretations of Judges 19 that encourage violence against queer bodies. It also demonstrates that sometimes queer affirmative readings inadvertently support violence against women. The essay argues that this scripting is not just a consequence of flawed textual analysis but of limited sexual analysis as it relies on binary and essentialized notions of gender. The analysis also shows that significant theoretical strides have been made on this subject, and that the neglect of the original “queer sex” (woman) in queer thinking reinforces the very binary it opposes. The essay thus proposes to reclaim a feminist discursive approach to queer heterosexist religious sexual scripts.

scholarly journals Towards a constructive critical geopolitics – Inspirations from the Frankfurt School of critical theory

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veit Bachmann ◽  
Sami Moisio
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Critical Geopolitics ◽  
Peace Research ◽  
Societal Role

This paper seeks to enrich the scholarly potential and further develop the societal role of critical geopolitical scholarship. In particular, we elaborate on some of the challenges of what we call a ‘constructive critical geopolitics’. This is done through a selective inquiry into some of the key insights of the first generation of Frankfurt School critical theory, in particular as regards its reflections on political action and public engagement. We argue that incorporating some of the central tenets of critical theory into critical geopolitics has important implications for the subdiscipline – theoretically, empirically and as regards its applied/constructive role in society. Our argument seeks to contribute to the inclusion of constructive critical geopolitical analysis alongside the focus on thorough deconstruction of hegemonic knowledge productions, power relations and systems of exclusion. More concretely, drawing on critical theory as well as on geographic feminist and peace research, we call for more explicit normative positioning in critical geopolitical scholarship and suggest that we embrace the complexity of the geopolitical phenomena we study and, in so doing, to consider both their progressive and regressive aspects. We use our interest in processes of European (dis)integration, and the Brexit vote in particular, to highlight the need to further develop such multiperspectival analysis on highly complex and multifaceted geopolitical processes, such as European (dis)integration.

scholarly journals Deus ex Machina? Religious texts, spiritual capital and inequalities: In continuation of a current debate (a response to colleague Farisani)

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christo Lombaard
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Biblical Hermeneutics ◽  
Spiritual Capital ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Conference Theme

Often, theological debates stand in the tension between idealist and realist perspectives. This is true too of a discussion in which I have participated on the Africanisation or contextualisation or relevance of the Bible in (South) Africa. In this debate I have at times been cast as being opposed to such Africanisation or contextualisation or relevance. Such criticism is mistaken. I am, however, critical of too idealistic views on the ways in which Old Testament research can impact African problems. In an interdisciplinary manner, the sociological concept of spiritual capital proves useful in illustrating my view. With this, I hope to be understood correctly and, more importantly, to contribute to greater realism concerning the relationship between research and societal problems. In that way, the Africanisation or contextualisation or relevance of the Bible in (South) Africa can become a greater reality. This is of increased importance in the post-secular time frame in which we currently find ourselves, in which the role of religion in the public sphere is again finding greater acceptance rather than being side-lined. On all counts, thus, the plight of the marginalised may be better served. Such broader acceptance of religion also demands that Bible scholarship takes full cognisance of the societal processes through which such upliftment can occur in reality. Therefore, en route to publication, this contribution is presented for critical consideration in three intellectual fora:��The Religious and Spiritual Capital session, XVIIIth International Sociological Association World Congress of Sociology (conference theme: �Facing an unequal world�), Yokohama, Japan, 13�19 July 2014.� The Old Testament Society of South Africa Annual Conference (conference theme: �Studying the Old Testament in South Africa, from 1994 to 2014 and beyond�), University of Johannesburg, 03�05 September 2014.� The Research Day of the Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies, University of South Africa, 25 September 2014, at which colleague E. Farisani�s University of South Africa inaugural lecture of 03 September 2013, �Dispelling myths about African biblical hermeneutics: The role of current trends in African biblical hermeneutics in the post-apartheid South Africa� was re-presented as �Current trends and patterns in African Biblical Hermeneutics in postapartheid South Africa: Myth or Fact?� for the purpose of critical discussion.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The intersection of Theology and Sociology adds concrete avenues for furthering the cause of the Africanisation of Biblical Studies.

scholarly journals Tumelo le Moruo

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vuyani S. Vellem
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Black Theology ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
The West ◽  
Black Africans ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Theology Of Liberation

Paleng ya rona batho ba batsho, tumelo ya boKreste e fihlile lefatsheng la rona la Afrika Borwa mmoho le dikgoka tsa ditjhaba tsa boPhirima. BoKreste bo fihlile ka nako ya dintwa tseo mohopolo wa tsona e neng e le ho hapa lefatshe la, batho ba batsho. Ka mantswe amang, rona batho ba batsho, re ile ra qetella re le setjhaba se ileng sa hlolwa, mme lefatshe la rona la nkuwa ka dikgoka. Ka hare ho dikgoka tsena, ho ne ho dutse tumelo ya boKreste. Makgowa a ile are: �A re kwaleng mahlo re rapeleng, rona ra kwala mahlo, mme ha re qeta hore Amen, re bula mahlo, ra fumana lefatshe le nkuwe matsohong a rona ho setse Bibele.� Re ile ra sala le Bibele eo ka yona re lekileng dilemong tse fitileng ho lwana ntwa ya topollo, kapa tokoloho hofihlela selemong sa 1994. Le ha re ile ra fumana tokoloho ka selemo seo, hare so ka re lokoloha ho tsa moruo. E kaba sena se bolela eng mabapi le tumelo ya rona ya boKreste? Segolweng sena re leka ho araba potso ena. Tumelo ke eng ho batho ba sa lokolohang moruong wa naha ya bona? Re lekola pale ya boKreste, tumelo ya batho le maemo a kereke ntlheng ya ho tadimana le tokoloho ka tumelo.Faith and economics. In our history from a black perspective, Christianity arrived through violent conquest from the west. Evidentially, this faith coincided with wars of dispossession and the ultimate defeat of black Africans. It is difficult to separate the violent defeat of black Africans from the arrival of Christian faith. This well-known statement within the circles of black Theology of liberation: When the white man arrived in our land he said, �let us pray and after prayer, when we opened our eyes, our land was taken and only the Bible was left in our hands,� captures the black sentiment of this history. Ironically, it was this Bible that black Africans used to wage their struggle for liberation up to the demise of apartheid in 1994.Nonetheless, political liberation is not enough as the struggle for economic liberation continue in South Africa post 1994. In the light of this history, what then is the role of faith for a people politically liberated without economic liberation? This article examines this history from the perspective of black faith and its role for liberation.

scholarly journals NEGATIVITAS TOTAL: KRITIK ADORNO TERHADAP RASIONALITAS DAN SENI MASYARAKAT MODERN

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Sunarto Sunarto
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Modern Art ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Max Horkheimer ◽  
Art Object ◽  
The Arts

Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969) adalah salah satu tokoh dari Mazhab Frankfurt, yang sangat akrab dengan Max Horkheimer. Keduanya membesarkan Mazhab Frankfurt. Adorno ahli dari berbagai bidang: filsafat, sosiologi, dan musikolgi. Pemikirannya saling bertautan. Kritiknya terhadap seni modern lebih kepada pertautan dengan sosiologi. Kondisi masyarakat modern post-aufklarung telah begitu memprihatinkan dengan mengorbankan hidup demi rasionalitas teknologi yang instrumental. Adorno menganggap telah terjadi pembalikkan total atas peran manusia sebagai subjek menjadi objek. Masyarakat modern telah terjebak rasionalitasnya sendiri. Bidang seni telah terjebak pada industrialisasi, yang memungkinkan manusia telah kehilangan daya estetis. Manusia menciptakan seni dan sebagai subjek seni akhirnya menjadi objek seni. Realitas inilah yang disebut sebagai “negativitas total”, manusia ingin menguasai alam akhirnya terkuasai oleh alam itu sendiri. Seni yang diciptakan manusia, akhirnya menjadi seni untuk kebutuhan “sesaat” dan konsumtif belaka.Kata Kunci: seni, negativitas total, teori kritis, rasionalitas Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969) is one of the leaders of the Frankfurt School, who is very familiar with Max Horkheimer. Both raise the Frankfurt School. Adorno experts from various fields: philosophy, sociology, and musikolgi. Their thinking is interlocked. His criticism of modern art is more to engagement with sociology. Conditions Aufklarung post-modern society has been so alarming at the expense live for rasionality instrumental technology. Adorno considers there has been a total reversal of the role of man as a subject to an object. Modern society has stuck own rationality. The arts have been stuck on industrialization, which allows humans have lost their aesthetic. Humans create art and as a subject of art eventually became an art object. Reality is what is referred to as "total negativity", humans want to control nature eventually possessed by nature itself. Art created humans, eventually becoming an art for the needs of “instantaneous” and a mere consumer.Keywords: art, total negativity, critical theory, rationality 

scholarly journals MEMBEDAH TEORI KRITIS MAZHAB FRANKFURT : SEJARAH, ASUMSI, DAN KONTRIBUSINYA TERHADAP PERKEMBANGAN TEORI ILMU SOSIAL

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Umar Sholahudin
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Capitalist Society ◽  
Critical Social Theory ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Marxian Analysis ◽  
Critical Social

This article aims to examine the critical theory of the Fraknfurt school, especially those related to its history, concepts, assumptions, and contributions. Historically-geneologically, critical theory was born from the womb of Marxist theory. Although born from the womb of Marxist theory, critical theory is not too satisfied with the analysis of the Marxians who are considered too mechanistic economic determinism in seeing the social reality of Western capitalist society. According to critical theory, the Marxian analysis in viewing and analyzing the inequality of the reality of capitalist society in Europe is too reductionist, that is, it is the economic factor (structure) that determines socio-economic inequality or class conflict in a capitalist society. The critical theory developed by the people who call themselves Neo-Maxians, exists to further develop the classical Marxian analysis, which rests not only on economic factors, but also on other socio-economic factors. The Frankfurt school of critical social theory thought services pioneered by Horkheimer, however, has provided a relatively new (though not very new) theoretical perspective in seeing, understanding and analyzing social reality. This critical social theory perspective has contributed significantly to the development of social theory. One of them is that critical theory has contributed to the development of critical and emancipatory awareness of human practice in seeing social realities that are full of inequality and injustice.Keyword : Critical Theory, Frankfurt School, History, Development of Social Theory

scholarly journals Šiądienos kritinės teorijos klausimu

2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-038
Author(s):  
Algimantas Valantiejus
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Critical Social Theory ◽  
Theoretical Problem ◽  
Theoretical Structure ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
Contemporary Practice ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Critical Social

Santrauka. Šio straipsnio paskirtis – atnaujinti diskusiją dėl teorinės struktūros sandaros, kurią suda­ro ir analitiniai, ir normatyviniai elementai. Pagrindinis uždavinys – analitiškumo ir normatyviškumo komponentų kintančioje kritinės socialinės teorijos sandaroje identifikavimas ir metodologinių požiūrių į šių komponentų tarpusavio santykį šiuolaikinėse praktikos teorijose analizė. Siekiama atsakyti į klausimą, kodėl kritikos sąvoka šiuolaikinėse praktikos teorijose keičiama reflektyvumo sąvoka. Straipsnyje, remiantis kritinių teoretikų nuorodomis ir jas interpretuojant, analizuojamos „nekalto“ (Wittgensteino Filosofinių tyrinėjimų 308 fragmente aptariama prasme) terminologinio pakeitimo euristinės implikacijos šių dienų kritinėms socialinėms teorijoms, kurios skiriamos nuo ankstyvosios Frankfurto kritinės teorijos. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: kritika, reflektyvumas, kritinė teorija, kritinė socialinė teorija, praktikos teo­rija. Key words: critique, reflexivity, critical theory, critical social theory, practice theory. ABSTRACT ON THE QUESTION OF CRITICAL THEORY TODAY The task of this article is to renew the discussion about the theoretical structure which includes both analytical and normative elements. The main theoretical problem analyzed in the article is the identifi­cation of analytical and normative elements in the structure of critical social theory and the analysis of the relationship between these elements in contemporary practice theories. The article seeks to answer the ques­tion why the concept of critique in contemporary practice theories is changed by the concept of reflexivity. The article aims to emphasize the implications of this „innocent“ terminological change for contemporary critical social theories, distinguished from early Critical Theory of Frankfurt School.

scholarly journals Critical theory and the question of technology: The Frankfurt School revisited

Thesis Eleven ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 072551362110020
Author(s):  
Gerard Delanty ◽  
Neal Harris
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Substantive Theory ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Core ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Historical Developments

Unlike the first generation of critical theorists, contemporary critical theory has largely ignored technology. This is to the detriment of a critical theory of society – technology is now a central feature of our daily lives and integral to the contemporary form of capitalism. Rather than seek to rescue the first generation’s substantive theory of technology, which has been partly outmoded by historical developments, the approach adopted in this article is to engage with today’s technology through the conceptual apparatus offered by the early Frankfurt School. This rationale is guided by the conviction that the core ideas of critical theory still offer a sound basis for assessing the nature of technology today. Through a reconstruction and engagement with some of the core concepts of first-generation critical theory, as well as the work of Bernard Stiegler and Andrew Feenberg, we can arrive at a more robust theory of technology, capable of critically interrogating the role of technology in contemporary society.

18. Critical Approaches to Global Politics

2020 ◽  
pp. 408-436
Author(s):  
Stephanie Lawson
Keyword(s):  
System Theory ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Karl Marx ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
Friedrich Engels

This chapter examines seven critical approaches to global politics: Marxism, Critical Theory, constructivism, feminism, postmodernism, postcolonial theory, and green theory. In their book The Manifesto of the Communist Party, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels address the implications for global order of the rise of capitalism and the role of the bourgeoisie as controllers of capital. Their ideas have had a major influence on critical approaches to virtually all aspects of both domestic and global politics. The chapter considers some major strands of Marxist-influenced theory of direct relevance to global politics, including dependency theory, world-system theory, Gramscian theory, and Frankfurt School theory. It also discusses gender theory and compares postmodern/poststructural approaches to global politics with Critical Theory and constructivism in International Relations.

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