2025Year

First Semester

Critical Theory

Lecture

Critical Theory

Z0300005 Critical Theory

KEARNEY Michael

2.0Credits

Wed.4Period

Shinjuku Campus

A-0475教室（大学院工学研究科）

A) A high degree of specialized expertise　100%
B) The skills to use science and technology　0%
C) The ability to conduct research independently, knowledge pertaining to society and occupations, and sense of ethics required of engineers and researchers　0%
D) Creative skills in specific areas of specialization　0%

Critical Theory introduces theories and methodologies of thought in order to develop the students’ abilities to objectively analyze and evaluate situations and issues.

The aim of this course is to develop the students’ abilities to utilize a critical thinking approach to the analysis of cultural, social, scientific, and technological situations and issues. Processes that operate during the formation and functioning, both somatic and psychic, of the human mind will be examined. Modes of human thought from throughout history, from ancient cultures to contemporary cultures, will be examined: their systems, methodologies, and theories will be introduced, discussed, and applied in order to develop the students’ objective analytical skills.

No Prerequisite

Discussion Debate／Presentation

Weeks 1 – 2: Overview of course, Samuel Todes, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Ferdinand de Saussure
Weeks 3: Prehistory – Tribes; Civilizations – Greece & China: Socrates, Plato, Confucius; Religions
Week 4: Dark Ages & Golden Eras
Weeks 5 – 6: The Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution
Week 7 – 8: 19th Century Epistemological Mutations: Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche
Week 9 – 11: Heidegger, Camus, Sartre, McLuhan, Lacan
Weeks 12 – 15: Derrida, Foucault, Baudrillard, Identity Matrixing Model (IMM)

Grades will be determined through projects, participation, and papers.

In class verbally and in comments on papers.

No textbook is required for this course.

None required; suggestions:
Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. Lois Tyson. Garland Publishing, Inc: 1999.
The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently … and Why. Richard E. Nisbitt. Freepress: 2004.
A History of Western Thought: From Ancient Greece to the Twentieth Century. Gunnar Skirbekk & Nils Gile. Routledge: 2001.
Introducing Critical Theory: A Graphic Guide. Stuart Sim & Borin Van Loon. Icon Books: 2001.
Mythologies: The Complete Edition. Roland Barthes, translated by Richard Howard & Annette Lavers. Hill and Wang: 2013.

Shinjuku Campus (A-2737): Thursday 13:00 - 13:50 and by appointment.

A knowledge of Critical Theory will not only enhance your ability to perform in your chosen profession, it will also give you insight into societal systems that affect every aspect of the human condition.

Not applicable

Not applicable