ben3d ago

RE: https://indieweb.social/@alineblankertz/116284528245914761

A similar approach to ‘artybollox’ might be useful but would in no way dissuade participants from enthusiastically pursuing it, since it’s purpose is to assimilate corporate nonsense into a facsimile of critical discourse; which while sufficiently convincing to all willing participants in the uh ‘bait and switch’ is incomprehensible to anyone else - incomprehensible because there is no actively meaning to be had - just an exchange of signage #art #arttheory #artybollox #criticaltheory

Show threadpepperberry5d ago
Honest take: the framework has real limitations worth engaging.

- Selection bias toward confirming cases
- Underdeveloped account of how community choices interrupt the cascade
- Light quantitative engagement

But its integration of moral, epistemic, economic, and eschatological analysis
into one coherent cascade sequence is genuinely rare. Worth taking seriously.

https://thinkingprospectus.substack.com/p/the-12-structural-predictions

#Sociology #CriticalTheory #IslamicStudies #HistoryOfIdeas
The 12 Structural Predictions Embedded in Fiqh al-Taḥawwulāt A Civilizational Transition Framework

A rigorous analysis of 12 structural predictions embedded in Fiqh al-Tahawwulat — the Jurisprudence of Transitions — examining how moral, economic, and geopolitical crises cascade toward civilizational change.

Thinking Prospectus
TinDrum6d ago

'Distinguishing system critique from model evaluation is not a concession to hype: it means focusing on collective benefits and harms rather than individual uses. We can talk about what models cannot or should not do without denying what they *can* do'

#genAI #technology #criticalTheory

https://www.techpolicy.press/stochastic-flocks-and-the-critical-problem-of-useful-ai/

Stochastic Flocks and the Critical Problem of 'Useful' AI

Acknowledging that AI systems are advancing does not buy into hype, it sharpens the precision of critical thinking about their impacts, says Eryk Salvaggio.

Tech Policy Press
Will Berard 🫳🎤🫶Mar 15

In fairness, he did spend the last 50 years in...

Critical condition.

German philosopher and social critic Jürgen Habermas dies at 96 - BBC News https://share.google/rNDGA1wskkNTxEPSq

#Philosophy #SocialScience #Habermas #CriticalTheory #BBCNews

German philosopher and social critic Jürgen Habermas dies at 96

One the most influential thinkers in post-war Germany, he linked philosophy and political action throughout his life.

BBC News
BellingenNSWMar 14

A capacity for rational dialogue?

“Democracy depends on the belief of the people that there is some scope left for collectively shaping a challenging future.” Jürgen Habermas

"His abiding concern was the state of democracy and the fear of backsliding into the exclusionary and violent social order..." >>
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/14/books/jurgen-habermas-dead.html
#PublicSphere #PublicDiscourse #communication #dialogue #nationalism #violence #democracy #CriticalTheory

Jürgen Habermas Dies at 96; One of Postwar Germany’s Most Influential Thinkers

In dozens of books, he rejected postmodern cynicism about truth and reason, arguing that rational communication was the best way to redeem democratic society.

The New York Times
Miguel Afonso CaetanoMar 10

Dichotomies in Media and Communication Theory

Bart Cammaerts

(Taylor & Francis, 27/02/2026 - 278 pages)

"This innovative textbook explores media and communication theory, and its intersections with social and political theory, through the prism of eight core dichotomies – communication/media, private/public, production/reception, material/symbolic, mainstream/alternative, abundance/scarcity, control/freedom, and virtual/real – revealing their complex interrelationships and significance in understanding contemporary media and communication landscapes.

Students will gain a nuanced understanding of media and communication theories by examining both sides of each dichotomy and their dynamic interplay. The book historicizes each concept pair, illustrates them with past and present examples, and demonstrates how competing paradigms often complement rather than contradict each other. This approach helps readers grasp theoretical complexity, recognize the democratic importance of media and communication, and develop critical thinking skills through engaging case studies and discussion questions in each chapter.

This textbook is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking media and communication theory courses. Instructors teaching critical media and communication theory will find the dichotomy-based approach particularly valuable for helping students navigate complex theoretical debates and understand the field's intellectual development. It will also be useful supplementary reading for specific topics within broader media studies programs."

https://books.google.pt/books?id=btitEQAAQBAJ

#MediaTheory #CommunicationTheory #MediaStudies #CriticalTheory

Dichotomies in Media and Communication Theory

This innovative textbook explores media and communication theory, and its intersections with social and political theory, through the prism of eight core dichotomies – communication/media, private/public, production/reception, material/symbolic, mainstream/alternative, abundance/scarcity, control/freedom, and virtual/real – revealing their complex interrelationships and significance in understanding contemporary media and communication landscapes.Students will gain a nuanced understanding of media and communication theories by examining both sides of each dichotomy and their dynamic interplay. The book historicizes each concept pair, illustrates them with past and present examples, and demonstrates how competing paradigms often complement rather than contradict each other. This approach helps readers grasp theoretical complexity, recognize the democratic importance of media and communication, and develop critical thinking skills through engaging case studies and discussion questions in each chapter.This textbook is designed for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking media and communication theory courses. Instructors teaching critical media and communication theory will find the dichotomy-based approach particularly valuable for helping students navigate complex theoretical debates and understand the field's intellectual development. It will also be useful supplementary reading for specific topics within broader media studies programs.

Google Books
Show threadDr. Folke Bernadotte 🇪🇺Mar 4
6/6
So, is it all doom and gloom? Not quite. The Frankfurt School wanted us to use Critical Theory to see through the "glittering surface" of modern life.
The goal isn't to reject reason, but to rescue it from becoming a mere tool for efficiency. To be truly enlightened is to realize that progress isn't a straight line—it’s a constant struggle to stay human in a world of machines. ☕️
#Adorno #Horkheimer #Sociology #CriticalTheory #MastodonTheory
Dr. Folke Bernadotte 🇪🇺Mar 4
1/6
Ever feel like the more "rational" our world gets, the more nonsensical it feels? In 1944, while the world was on fire, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer dropped a philosophical pipe bomb: Dialectic of Enlightenment.
They didn't just want to critique the Nazis; they wanted to know why humanity was "sinking into a new kind of barbarism" instead of becoming truly free. #CriticalTheory #FrankfurtSchool #Philosophy
Artun FaliroMar 4

📍 What happens when the #metrics hegemony and the 'efficiency by #ai' discourse — unquestioningly and uncritically deployed in the contemporary moment and at the expense of healthcare quality, #equity, veracity and #democracy — silence the much needed attention on political determinants of planetary #health?

#Foucault #theclinic #criticaltheory #panopticon

#planetaryhealth #politicaltheory

Artun FaliroFeb 27

Inclusion, as informed by critical theory and a historically-grounded #power and #politics lens, is important and yet often missing, in discourses on democracy in 21st century.

📍 Inclusion that is just, should be accompanied by unpacking of structures made invisible by historical and contemporary #hegemony and by #redistribution of power.

#UrsulaLeGuin #GloriaAnzaldua #intersectionality #intertextuality

Image: long form text on #criticaltheory and #inclusion