The Frankfurt School and its Critics

by Bottomore,The late Tom

• ISBN13: 9780415285391
• ISBN10: 0415285399
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2003-03-21
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

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 writersaccessible, 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.

Author Biography

The late Tom Bottomore was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex.

Table of Contents

Editor's Foreword	7	(4)
Introduction	11	(4)
The Formation of the School	15	(12)
The High Tide of Critical Theory	27	(28)
Decline and Renewal	55	(16)
Conclusion: A Critical Assessment of the Critics	71	(15)
Biographical Notes on Some Leading Members of the School	86	(3)
Suggestions for Further Reading	89	(2)
Index	91