International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs | Directory of Programs, Centers, and Projects

The Program in Critical Theory

University of California, Berkeley

The Program in Critical Theory at UC Berkeley enables graduate students already enrolled in Ph.D. programs from across the social sciences, arts, and humanities to obtain certification of a Designated Emphasis (DE) specialization in Critical Theory. Students admitted to the DE who complete its requirements receive a parenthetical notation to that effect on their doctoral degrees. The DE offers graduate fellowships, hosts international scholars, and presents lectures, seminars, and other events for the wider campus community and local public. The Program in Critical Theory also maintains important collaborative relations with other critical theory institutes and programs nationally and internationally.

The DE in Critical Theory offers courses on the nineteenth-century notion of critique; on the Frankfurt School and other twentieth-century currents of critical theory and philosophy; and on contemporary forms and modes of critical theory, including critical race theory, postcolonialist theory, feminist critique, gender studies and queer theory, and the diverse approaches to critique arising with and after structuralism and postructuralism. The Program emphasizes the centrality of theoretical critique in the examination of contemporary values, of the power relations that constrain and enable political, social, cultural and economic life, and of the modes of justification that legitimate historical and cultural inquiry and sociopolitical analysis.

Contact Information
Robert Kaufman, Co-Director
Martin Jay, Co-Director

University of California, Berkeley
University of California
4327 Dwinelle Hall, MC 2510
Berkeley, California
United States
http://criticaltheory.berkeley.edu/
critical_theory@berkeley.edu
(510) 642-1328

Region
North America

Academic Program
Certificate (includes emphasis, specialization, or concentration)

Year Established
2006

Fellowships and Potential Scholarly Affiliations
Critical Theory Dissertation Fellowship