Where is critical theory? Eurocentrism and marginalization in European and American Critical Theory

Abstract

In this paper I will examine the marginalization of certain forms of critical theory in US. I will argue that the real Great Refusals have been refused by much of what calls itself critical theory. What gets accepted as critical theory in the academy is often connected to the social position of those doing the theory. That is, quite often critical theory is constructed by those who enjoy a certain degree of social comfort and have created a gap between themselves and the “wretched of the earth” who suffer daily. Critical Theory becomes Ivory Tower theorizing. Finally, I will argue that Herbert Marcuse was a critical theorist who tried to stay connected to those who suffer. I will make some proposals based on Herbert Marcuse’s critical theory of education, the black feminist framework of intersectionality, and what I call democratic attunement.