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The Franktfurt School: WTF? Horkheimer, Adorno and Critical Theory Explained

The Frankfurt School get mentioned a lot on this website. Alongside being celebrated for their contributions to philosophy, sociology and political science, however, Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse and the various other scholars who worked at what was (and is) officially known as the Institute for Social Research, are the target of a lot of vitriol. Commentators on the political right including Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro will often invoke the Frankfurt School as a group of intellectual bogey men and the progenitors of political correctness, cultural marxism, postmodernism or whatever else they seek to porn scorn on that day. In today's episode of What the Theory?, I seek to provide some insight into what the Frankfurt School actually was (and is). Beginning with the perceived failure of the German Revolution, I track the history of the Frankfurt School through formation, exile in the United States during the Second World War and up to the student revolts of May 1968. Alongside this institutional history, I also provide some insight into the work of the Frankfurt School, introducing ideas such as critical theory and the culture industry as well as touching on seminal texts such as Dialectic of Enlightenment, The Authoritarian Personality, One-Dimensional Man and more. If you'd like to support me to make more videos like this then I'd be very grateful if you'd check out my Patreon page at http://patreon.com/tomnicholas Further Reading Grand Hotel Abyss by Stuart Jeffries US: https://amzn.to/2UwcjrU UK: https://amzn.to/2SmepYC Critical Theory: A Very Short Introduction by Stephen Eric Bronner US: https://amzn.to/2SjEjfw UK: https://amzn.to/3b9GkDA Dialectic of Enlightenment by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer US: https://amzn.to/31t8h51 UK: https://amzn.to/31xgbKD [The above are affiliate links. I receive a small kickback from anything you buy which, in turn, helps to support the channel.] If you've enjoyed this video and would like to see more including my What The Theory? series in which I provide some snappy introductions to key theories in the humanities as well as video essays and more then do consider subscribing. Thanks for watching! Twitter: @Tom_Nicholas Website: www.tomnicholas.com