Decolonizing Critical Theory: Rethinking Its Limitations and Possibilities (MLA Convention 2026)
Organization: MLA Convention 2026
Event: MLA Convention 2026
Decolonizing Critical Theory: Rethinking Its Limitations and Possibilities
This panel examines how Critical Theory - a philosophical tradition associated with prominent German thinkers such as Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, Jürgen Habermas, Axel Honneth, Rahel Jaeggi - can be critically reimagined through the lens of diverse intellectual traditions, particularly those rooted in discourses on race, gender, ethnicity, and postcolonial thought. While Critical Theory has long positioned itself as a critique of power, capitalism, and domination, its historical roots in Western intellectual traditions have often left it ill-equipped to address issues of colonialism, racial injustice, gendered violence, and global epistemologies.
Amy Allen in her influential book The End of Progress argues that the Frankfurt School still remains “wedded to problematically Eurocentric and/or foundationalist strategies for grounding normativity” and, has thus largely failed to seriously engage with the insights of queer theory and post- and decolonial thought (Allen, 2016). Drawing on this critique, Gurminder Bhambra contends that that the Frankfurt School’s preoccupation with a Hegelian-Marxist conception of history limits its ability to reckon with alternative epistemologies. In her view, “an effort to decolonize Frankfurt School critical theory must necessarily question the histories that it mobilizes in support of its normative claims” (Bhambra, 2021). Thinkers like W.E.B. Du Bois, Franz Fannon, Enrique Dussel, Gayathri Spivak, Saidiya Hartman, Nancy Fraser, Dipesh Chakravarty, Aníbal Quijano, Roderick Ferguson have also advanced alternative genealogies of critique that challenge the Eurocentric monopoly on critical theorizing.
By bringing together scholars working at the intersection of Critical Theory and decolonial thought, this panel aims to explore new pathways for a more globally attuned and politically engaged Critical Theory. We invite papers that reflect on the following questions:
· What does it mean to “decolonize” Critical Theory?
· Given Horkheimer’s assertion of its distinctiveness in the seminal essay “Traditional and Critical Theory,” (1937) to what extent can Critical Theory be meaningfully placed in dialogue with other intellectual traditions?
· How might alternative theoretical frameworks challenge its foundational assumptions and expose its Eurocentric limitations?
· Can such engagements not only reveal its blind spots but also contribute to its conceptual expansion?
· What methodological shifts are necessary to render Critical Theory more relevant to contemporary global crises?
This panel welcomes contributions from scholars across disciplines and methodological orientations, including but not limited to philosophy, literary studies, political theory, and cultural studies. Please send an abstract (300 words) and a short bio to Kajal Mukhopadhyay (DAAD Fellow at Humboldt University and Ph.D. Candidate at Duke University): kajal.mukhopadhyay@duke.edu (Deadline: March 16, 2025)
Kajal Mukhopadhyay
