Repositioning Ideology Critique in a Critical Theory of Adult Learning
Author:
- 1 November 2001
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Adult Education Quarterly
- Vol. 52 (1) , 7-22
Abstract
Contemporary adult educational readings of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, as interpreted via Habermas, risk sliding into an exclusive engagement with the pragmatic dimensions of his thought to the exclusion of its Marxist underpinnings and its concern with ideology critique. Building on Max Horkheimer's recently republished essay on "Traditional and Critical Theory," this article attempts to reposition ideology critique as a learning process crucial to the realization of adulthood. It discusses critical theory as a response to Marx and argues that a critical theory of adult learning should focus on how adults learn to recognize and challenge ideological domination and manipulation. Such learning is necessary if adults are to counteract the continuous reproduction of blatantly unequal structures and create more inclusive democratic arrangements. The article concludes with a warning for critical theory to be on guard against its own ossification and entombment by engaging with the pragmatist spirit.Keywords
This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
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