From the launch of the Journal of Social Research in 1932 to the recent work of Jurgen Habermas on law and democracy, the Frankfurt School has produced some of the most ambitious and influential theories of the past century. This new introduction to the critical theory of the School provides a thorough, concise and up-to-date assessment of thinkers including Pollock, Marcuse, Horkheimer, Adorno, Neumann, Lowenthal, Fromm, Kirchheimer and Habermas. Peter Stirk's lively account places the formative work of the School within the context of the Weimar Republic and of Nazi Germany. He contrasts...

What comes after 'postmodernism'? A buzzword which began as an energising, radical critique became, by the 20th Century's end, a byword for fracture, eclecticism, political apathy and intellectual exhaustion.

The last few years have seen a growing interest in critical realism as a possible, alternative way of moving forward. The virtues of critical realism lie in its successful provision of a philosophical grounding for the social sciences and humanities and of a methodology applicable to many different fields of analysis.

After Postmodernism brings together some of the...

Deconstruction and Critical Theory

- Surveys the main schools and theorists of Deconstruction
- Establishes their philosophical roots
- Traces their intellectual development
- Analyses their contribution to the understanding of literature and ideology
- Compares their critical value
- Explores the critical reaction to Deconstruction and its limitations

This is the ideal text for students who wish to understand how and why Deconstruction has become the dominant tool of the humanities.