Critical Theories of Social Justice

The research and scholarship of the members of the Critical Theories of Social Justice Division focuses on questions relating to competing conceptions of social justice, diverse approaches to framing research relating to social justice (both as an analytically and a politically oriented concept), and difficulties to circumscribe a generally accepted understanding of social justice.  Members of the Division work on a range of topics, from a variety of perspectives, in the context of several different disciplines including English, philosophy, philosophy of education, political science, and sociology.

Theoretical perspectives on social justice represented by members of the division are informed by the political philosophy of John Rawls (including hate crimes legislation, compulsory education, living wage legislation, integrity and political office, and reparations issues), critical legal theory, the critical theory of the Frankfurt School (especially Adorno, but also Marcuse, Habermas, and more recent representatives), the sociology of C. Wright Mills, the writings of Michael Harrington, theories of post-modernity and Native American literatures, pragmatism, feminist theory and pedagogy, and cultural studies in education.  Among division members, “critical theory” denotes both frameworks that are critical of social, political, cultural and economic circumstances which undercut efforts to advance social justice, and critical of conceptions of social justice that implicitly or explicitly abstract from, and neglect consideration of, specific conditions of injustice, as they continue to persist locally, regionally, nationally, and globally, by race, class, gender, and other dimensions of life in society.  Among the members are the editors of three journals:  Current Perspectives in Social Theory, International Education, and Soundings.  An Interdisciplinary Journal.