Literature Review: Introduction to Critical Theory (Part 14)
Excerpt from, “From social justice warrior to Gospel-centered servant of God: An educator’s reflection on critical theory and Christianity” (Linkletter, 2021).
Critical theory is a paradigm that has taken the form of many present-day social justice movements.
The most familiar social movement under the umbrella of critical theory is critical race theory. However, there is also queer theory, intersectional feminism, and disability studies, among many others (Lindsay, 2020).
James Lindsay is an author and the president of New Discourses, a media site and educational resource that aims to be a home for the ‘politically homeless.’ The site’s purpose is to provide its readers with the tools needed to understand what is going on in the world and be able to talk effectively about it, without any political, social, or cultural sway (New Discourses, about page).
The New Discourses site defines critical theory as: Critical Theory in the narrow sense designates several generations of German philosophers and social theorists in the Western European Marxist tradition known as the Frankfurt School. According to these theorists, a “critical” theory may be distinguished from a “traditional” theory according to a specific practical purpose: a theory is critical to the extent that is seeks human “emancipation from slavery,” acts as a “liberating…influence,” and works “to create a world which satisfies the needs and powers” of human beings (Horkheimer, 1972, 246).
Neil Shenvi is a chemist who turned his attention to the study of critical theory and has quickly become a leading voice in the analysis of critical theory (Shenvi & Koukl, 2020). From his vast amount of research Shenvi has found five common points (or ideas) that all critical theory movements and worldviews have in common (Childers, 2020); these are:
1) Individual identity is inseparable from group identity
2) Oppressor groups subjugate oppressed groups
3) Fundamental moral duty is freeing groups from oppression
4) Lived experience > objective evidence
5) Intersectionality
In my review of the literature I identified popular and scholarly research on critical theory. The initial source for my literature review was Allie Stuckey and her interview with Neil Shenvi (Stuckey, 2020). I was already a regular listener of Allie Stuckey’s podcast when this interview aired. It was my first introduction to the history of critical theory and my first time learning about the details of the theory. After listening to the podcast, I was intrigued by critical theory and wanted to learn more. I thought the best place to start would be Neil Shenvi’s personal website and located the reference list, book reviews and articles on his website.
In the second stage of research, I manually screened Neil Shenvi’s reference list, book reviews, and articles for their relevance and attainability. Next, I selected resources from his lists, reviewed them and manually screened their references for more potential resources. Literature was chosen based on its credibility to the history of critical theory and its relevance to modern day interpretations and applications of critical theory.
Rebecca
References
Lindsay, J. (2020, July 8). Critical theory. New Discourses. https://newdiscourses.com/tftw-critical-theory/.
Horkheimer, M. (1972b [1992]). Critical theory: Selected essays, translated by Matthew J. O’Connell, et al., New York: Seabury Press; reprinted Continuum: New York, 1992. p. 246.
Shenvi, N. & Koukl, G. (2020) https://www.str.org/w/interview-neil-shenvi-on-critical-theory#.Xn5hvohKiUk
Childers, A. (Host). (March 23, 2020). Critical theory and intersectionality with Neil Shenvi (No.41). In The Alisa Childers Podcast. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar1rAZcEN2A