Though we haven't gone into detail too much in class about the different schools of thought regarding modernity and post modernity, Habermas' work encouraged me to do a bit more research about the major differences between the two schools.
According to The Lineages of Cultural Studies, by David Banash and Anthony Enns, "Cultural studies has deep and vexed connections to two critical movements in the Twentieth century: Frankfurt school critique and Birmingham cultural studies. Indeed, just the difference between the words 'critique' and 'studies' encodes the differences in these two approaches, differences which still trouble the definition and practice of what has become over the past forty years the sprawling academic enterprise of cultural studies."
At their core, the two schools of thought can be seen as critiquing culture (Frankfurt) or celebrating culture (Birmingham). Both schools borrow from Marxism, and both take issue with several of his philosophies and have adapted his ideas into their own. For example, the Frankfurt school, and Habermas himself, believed that Marx's views needed to be revised in order to keep up with the times, and that Marx should have paid more attention to the influence of culture on capitalism. The Birmingham school challenges Marx' notion that class distinguishments and struggle are inevitable, and instead believes that ideology is worth fighting for.
Though these two groups often went head to head in the twentieth century, nowadays, they seem to have more in common than ever. The Frankfurt school serves to analyze and the Birmingham school serves to understand, both functioning in their own ways.
Personally, I don't think I know about to choose where my beliefs would fit, but I look forward to trying to place them as we learn more about ideologies. I'm also curious the affect our current political climate, both at home and around the world, has on the two schools of thought, and where their philosophies would fit into everything.
According to The Lineages of Cultural Studies, by David Banash and Anthony Enns, "Cultural studies has deep and vexed connections to two critical movements in the Twentieth century: Frankfurt school critique and Birmingham cultural studies. Indeed, just the difference between the words 'critique' and 'studies' encodes the differences in these two approaches, differences which still trouble the definition and practice of what has become over the past forty years the sprawling academic enterprise of cultural studies."
At their core, the two schools of thought can be seen as critiquing culture (Frankfurt) or celebrating culture (Birmingham). Both schools borrow from Marxism, and both take issue with several of his philosophies and have adapted his ideas into their own. For example, the Frankfurt school, and Habermas himself, believed that Marx's views needed to be revised in order to keep up with the times, and that Marx should have paid more attention to the influence of culture on capitalism. The Birmingham school challenges Marx' notion that class distinguishments and struggle are inevitable, and instead believes that ideology is worth fighting for.
Though these two groups often went head to head in the twentieth century, nowadays, they seem to have more in common than ever. The Frankfurt school serves to analyze and the Birmingham school serves to understand, both functioning in their own ways.
Personally, I don't think I know about to choose where my beliefs would fit, but I look forward to trying to place them as we learn more about ideologies. I'm also curious the affect our current political climate, both at home and around the world, has on the two schools of thought, and where their philosophies would fit into everything.
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