ABSTRACT
This chapter considers critical theory in a specific way — to refer to the tradition of social inquiry that has been primarily inspired by the work of the Frankfurt School and Jurgen Habermas and focuses on critical ethnography. Once in America, many of the critical theorists experienced a severe sense of cultural alienation and revulsion toward the meaninglessness and over-rationalization of a materially prosperous and modern society. The Critical Theory tradition has held onto Marx's central vision of emancipation while moving away from a preoccupation with the economic base of society and structural arrangements. In ideology-critique, critical theory has found a powerful analytic lens that can be turned relentlessly on virtually every aspect of contemporary culture and society. The growing influence of the mass media over the cultural spheres of society has always been a central concern of critical theorists. Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer’s concept of instrumental reason is among the more evocative and radical contributions of critical theory.
