The newly founded Critical Theory working group approaches foundational works of theory without presupposing expertise or mastery. Instead of producing knowledge in fidelity to an orthodox, institutional reception, they aim to read without authoritative claims of hermeneutic mastery and attend to the assumptions, elisions, contradictions, and overall complexities of texts. This group encounters canonical theoretical texts as provisional and non-totalizing, necessitating a (re)vision that places them in conversation with our own individual projects and inquiries while staying alert to what is lost, gained, or transubstantiated in the process.
The first meeting will discuss Walter Benjamin's 'Critique of Violence.' Wine and food will be served. Please email jk5996@nyu.edu to RSVP and for a .pdf of the reading.
Critical Theory Working Group: Benjamin's 'Critique of Violence'
