Critical Theory and Social Justice: An Overview

In the universities there is a field of scholarship that goes by a number of names such as “Gender Studies”, “Identity Studies”, “Feminist Studies”, “Critical Pedagogy”, “Social Justice Studies”, “Critical Theory” and many more. For the sake of simplicity I will broadly refer to these fields as “Critical Theory” when addressing the foundational theories and I will use the term “Social Justice” when discussing their outworking and calls to social action. This field of study has had an increasing impact upon both the university campus and the broader society. The unifying element connecting all these fields is a predetermined commitment to a particular worldview that views society through the dual lenses of postmodernism and Marxism. The foundational principles of Critical Theory mandate a particular form of “problematizing” groups, and have a particular method for mitigating social injustices. Critical Theory is foundationally flawed and its framework for interpretation is detrimental to those whom it purports to help. This paper will offer an overview of the main ideas within Critical Theory and Social Justice Studies and elucidate a number of issues within these fields.

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