"[A]ll theory (whether it calls itself critical or not) has a vantage-point: that it reveals itself is the distinction of critical theory." [Ioan Davies, "Time, Aesthetics, and Critical Theory," in John O'Neill (ed.), On Critical Theory 58-77, 59 (New York: Seabury Press, 1976)]

"The task of uncovering the cultural assumptions that dominate in a society . . . [is] the task of critical theory." [Thomas McLaughlin, Street Smarts and Critical Theory: Listening to the Vernacular (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996)]

"[E]ach society needs critics and artists to idealize a higher order of freedom than that which has been actually attained." [Ben Agger, "On Happiness and the Damaged Life," in John O'Neill (ed.), On Critical Theory 12-33, at 18 (New York: Seabury Press, 1976)]

Illuminations: Critical Theory Website
collection of articles, excerpts, and chapters from contemporary writers who focus on critical theory

Introduction to Critical Theory
discipline theories

Contemporary Critical Theory
theories of literary criticism

Rage & Hope

Contemporary Philosophy, Critical Theory and Postmodern Thought

Habermas Links

The Philosophy of Theodor W. Adorno

Critical Theory Basics

Liberating the Critical in Critical Theory: Transcending Marcuse on Alienation, Art and the Humanities

Thomas McLaughlin, Street Smarts and Critical Theory: Listening to the Vernacular (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996)

Bibliography

Ben Agger, Critical Social Theories: An Introduction (1998)

Michael Payne, et.al. (eds.), A Dictionary of Cultural and Critical Theory (1998)

Christopher Norris, Against Relativism: Philosophy of Science, Deconstruction, and Critical Theory (1997)

Barbara Herrnstein Smith, Contingencies of Value: Alternative Perspectives for Critical Theory (1988)

Geoffrey Thurley, Counter-Modernism in Current Critical Theory (1983)

Colin N. Manlove, Critical Thinking: A Guide to Interpreting Literary Texts (1989)

Meyer Howard Abrams, Doing Things With Texts: Essays in Criticism and Critical Theory (1991)

Steven Lynn, Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature With Critical Theory (1997)

Ken M. Newton, Interpreting the Text : A Critical Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Literary Interpretion (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990)

Jere Paul Surber, Culture and Critique: An Introduction to the Critical Discourses of Cultural Studies (1998)

David M. Rasmussen (ed.), The Handbook of Critical Theory (1996)

Dwight Eddins (ed.), The Emperor Redressed: Critiquing Critical Theory (1995)

Bruce Henricksen & Thais Morgan (eds.), Reorientations: Critical Theories and Pedagogies (1990)

Dominick LaCapra, Soundings in Critical Theory (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1989)

Brian Fay, Critical Social Science: Liberation and Its Limits (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987)

Paul Connerton, The Tragedy of Enlightenment: An Essay on the Frankfurt School (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980)

David Held, Introduction to Critical Theory: Horkheimer to Habermas (Berkerley: University of California Press, 1980)

Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research, 1923-1950 (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1973)

John O'Neill (ed.), On Critical Theory (New York: Seabury Press, 1976)

Contents Page