1. B 203: Qualitative Research Techniques Critical Theory

2. Marxism and Neo-Marxism Basic premises of Marxism The Marxist Model The growth of Neo-Marxist School

3. Frankfurt School The "Frankfurt School" refers to a group of German- American theorists who developed powerful analyses of the changes in Western capitalist societies Reliance on Karl Marx’s theory of Historical Materialism Each member of the Frankfurt school adjusted Marxism with his additions, or "fix“. Then, they used the "fixed" Marxist theory as a measure modern society needed to meet These ideas came to be known as "Critical Theory"

4. Frankfurt School… to expose contradictions to make “Truth” problematic They generated one of the first modes of a critical cultural studies that analyzes the processes of cultural production and political economy, the politics of cultural texts, and audience reception and use of cultural artifacts (Kellner 1989 and 1995) PRIMARY QUESTION (for Frankfurt School thinkers): – How do you get people to participate in their own enslavement?

6. Cultural products are produced in order to make a profit. The profit motive determines the nature of cultural products. Individualization is the process which hides the process of standardization – the substantial similarities between cultural texts – the incidental, superficial differences that give these texts the appearance of novelty.

7. The Culture Industry always serves the status quo because it always encourages conformity It creates easy, predictable entertainment that does not force people to think or question Mass marketed culture acts as “social cement.” It adjusts people to the lives they lead …in this sense the Culture Industry provides the mechanism for its own critique. All is accounted for

8. A Reconceptualized Critical Theory Critical Enlightenment (Power Game) Critical Emancipation (Force Identification) Rejection of Economic Determinism (Superstructure) Critique of Instrumental and Social Reality (How to vs. Why Should) Impact of Desire Critical Theory of Power-Hegemony Critical Theory of Power-Ideology Critical Theory of Power-Linguistic Focus on Culture-Power-Domination Dynamics Cultural Pedagogy

9. Critical Theory and Qualitative Research Critical Hermeneutics – “Hermeneutic act of interpretation involves in its most elemental articulation making sense of what has been observed in a way that communicates understanding” – Perception itself is an act of interpretation – Questions about the purposes and process of interpretation – A bridge was built between “reader and text, text and its producer, historical context and present, and one particular social context with another”

10. Critical Hermeneutic Cycle – The concrete, the parts and the particular is brought into focus while – Grounding them in a larger understanding of social forces – To introduce new form of analysis – To introduce new metaphor