ABSTRACT

This review essay examines prominent definitions of Critical Theory today. Many of these definitions frame Critical Theory as a broad project that distinguishes itself from other theories by working across disciplines in order to contribute to emancipatory movements. Defined thus, Critical Theory serves as an umbrella term under which would sit, for instance, feminist, decolonial and intersectional theories. But when elaborating on their definitions of Critical Theory in public statements, several prominent institutional sites and recent books chart a lineage from Immanuel Kant to the Frankfurt School and beyond, highlighting recent debates with French poststructuralism. When the story of Critical Theory is told in this way, Critical Theory runs into the problems Bernard Harcourt effectively outlines in Critique & Praxis, such as retreating from political practice into epistemological questions, withdrawing from activism into academic enclaves and being co-opted by liberal politics. My argument is that certain figures advancing Black radical thought and cultural critiques—I focus on Joy James and Stuart Hall—give Critical Theory the theoretical and practical resources to side-step the problems of retreating into epistemology, the academy or liberalism. Re-oriented in this way, Critical Theory could more effectively diagnose and respond to the struggles of our time.

摘要

这篇评论文章探讨了当今批判理论的重要定义。许多这些定义将批判理论构建为一个广泛的项目，通过跨学科工作以促进解放运动，从而将自己与其他理论区分开来。因此，批判理论作为一个总括术语，例如，女权主义、非殖民主义和交叉理论。但是，当在公开声明中详细阐述他们对批判理论的定义时，一些著名的机构网站和最近的书籍描绘了从伊曼纽尔·康德到法兰克福学派等的谱系，突出了最近与法国后结构主义的辩论。当以这种方式讲述批判理论的故事时，批判理论遇到了伯纳德·哈考特在批判与实践中有效概述的问题，例如从政治实践退回到认识论问题，从激进主义退回到学术飞地，以及被自由政治拉拢。我的论点是，某些推动黑人激进思想和文化批判的人物——我关注的是乔伊·詹姆斯和斯图尔特·霍尔——为批判理论提供了理论和实践资源，以回避退回到认识论、学院或自由主义的问题。以这种方式重新定位，批判理论可以更有效地诊断和回应我们这个时代的斗争。