Political Science 350—Reason and Enlightenment: The Frankfurt School and Political Theory

Fall 2004

Marek Steedman Office phone: x7170

Office: 415 Willis Hall E-mail:

Office Hours: M 3-5pm, Th 10-12am, & by appt. Home phone: x7419 (See Below)

When: TTH 3:10 – 4:55pm.

Where: Sayles-Hill 253

Goals

The period between the "Great War" of 1914-1918 and the end of WWII provoked a series of overlapping, sustained, and, in their combined effect, devastating critiques of "modernity." The nub of the issue was the apparent collapse of the Enlightenment project of emancipation (from prejudice and superstition, from domination and tyranny) through reason. In part, the very pursuit of that project appeared to have produced total war, totalitarianism, and a general bureaucratization of modern life. In this course we will examine one such critique -- that of the Frankfurt School, tracing its development from the early 1920s and 30s in Germany to one modern exponent, Jurgen Habermas. A key focus, however, will be on the attempt of Frankfurt School theorists (more sustained in some than in others), to retrieve and rebuild an emancipatory project out of the ruins of modernity itself. This attempt distinguishes the Frankfurt School from approaches that seek a return to the pre-modern period for philosophical guidance, and those for whom the abandonment of the universalizing pretensions of modernity marks an achievement. We will consider the potential and limitations of this attempt, as well as the cogency of the original critique.

Contacting Me Outside Class

You should feel very free to come to office hours to talk about the course. I will also be in my office a fair amount – you’ll generally find my door open if I’m there. I would ask that you please don’t stop by the office on Friday, unless the matter is urgent. Email is a very good way to get in contact with me and ask questions. If you call me at home, please do not do so after 9:30pm.

Structure

This is a seminar, so the emphasis will be squarely on discussion. For this to work, you must have read the assigned text with some care before coming to class. I will provide background information and starting places for discussion, where necessary, but you should be prepared with your own thoughts and reactions (however provisional).

Books

The following books have been ordered and should be at the Bookstore. Additional readings will be made available.

Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents

Horkheimer and Adorno, Dialectic Of Enlightenment

Adorno, Minima Moralia

Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man

Habermas, Jurgen Habermas On Society and Politics

Requirements

Participation: Participation accounts for 25% of your total grade. This is a seminar, so your engaged participation is particularly important. Being an active participant involves asking questions and talking, but also listening and responding, in a respectful way, to others. It is important that note, however, that you are not being graded on the frequency of your participation alone, but also the quality of your contribution to the class discussion.

Writing Assignment: The main purpose of the class is the completion of a substantive, 20pp, paper. The assignment will involve three main steps:

1)  Paper Topic Proposal: At this stage you will simply indicate, in writing, what topic you would like to pursue for the paper. The proposal must be approved by me. Feel free to talk to me about possible topics before this date.

2)  Abstract of Paper: Here you will write a short paragraph in which you (a) state the question or issue to be addressed, (b) indicate how you will go about answering it, and (c) state the argument of the paper.

3)  Draft of Paper: This should be a full draft of the paper – not a partial or “working” draft. I will read and comment on the papers, and then return them to you.

4)  Final Paper: You will revise the papers, and then turn in your final version. The paper should have a title page, and include the abstract (revised if necessary).

Oral Presentation: In the final two sessions of the course each member of the class will give an oral presentation of their research paper. The presentation should be about 10-15mins in length.

Comps

This is a designated comps course – you may choose to use this course to fulfill the course component of the comps requirement. In this case, your final paper will become the basis for your comps project as you revise it in subsequent terms. If you plan to use the course for this purpose, you must let me know before the end of the second week of this term.

Grading

Participation 25%

Oral Presentation 10%

Paper Draft (includes Proposal and Abstract) 20%

Final Paper 45%

Calendar

Week 1

Tues. 9/14 Introduction

Thurs. 9/16 Situating the Frankfurt School:

Held, “Introduction,” in Introduction to Critical Theory

Habermas, “Conceptions of Modernity: A Look Back at Two Traditions”

Week 2

Tues. 9/21 Influences I: Critical Philosophy

Kant, “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?”

Marx, “For a Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing”

Marx, “Estranged Labor” from the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844

Thurs. 9/23 Influences II: Alienation, Reification, Rationalization

Marx, “The Fetishism of Commodities and the Secret Thereof,” in Capital

Lukács, “Reification and the Consciousness of the Proletariat”

Weber, “The Market: Its Impersonality and Ethic” in Economy and Society

Week 3

Tues. 9/28 Influences III: Freud

Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, chs. I-V

Thurs. 9/30 Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, chs. VI-VIII

Week 4

Tues. 10/5 Dialectic of Enlightenment:

Horkheimer and Adorno, Dialectic of Enlightenment, ch. 1 and 2.

Proposed Paper Topic Due In Class

Thurs. 10/7 Horkheimer and Adorno, Dialectic of Enlightenment, ch. 3 and 4.

Week 5

Tues. 10/12 Life and Production:

Adorno, Minima Moralia, part 1.

Thurs. 10/14 Adorno, Minima Moralia, part 2.

Week 6

Tues. 10/19 Adorno, Minima Moralia, part 3.

Thurs. 10/21 One-Dimensional Man:

Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, part 1.

Week 7

Tues. 10/26 Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, part 2.

Abstract of Paper Due In Class

Thurs. 10/28 Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, part 3.

Week 8

Tues. 11/2 Beyond the Frankfurt School I: Habermas

Habermas, “The Dialectics of Rationalization”

Habermas, “Life-Forms, Morality, and The Tasks of the Philosopher”

Thurs. 11/4 Habermas, Jurgen Habermas on Society and Politics, chs. 8 and 9.

Paper Draft Due

Week 9

Tues. 11/9 Habermas, “The Entwinement of Myth and Enlightenment: Max Horkheimer and Theodore Adorno”

Habermas, “The Normative Content of Modernity”

Habermas, Jurgen Habermas on Society and Politics, ch. 13.

Thurs. 11/11 Oral Presentations

Week 10

Tues. 11/16 Oral Presentations

Final Paper Due: 5pm, Monday, November 22 – by email or in my office mailbox. No Late Papers Will Be Accepted.