Skip to main content

About

Critical Theory Minor

College of Arts and Sciences

The Value of Critical Perspectives:Sigmund Freud

Students embracing critical perspectives are well-positioned to promote positive social change and support mutually-beneficial solutions to pressing local and global concerns by:

  • Understanding systematic problems and issues in society
  • Interrogating power-relations that enable and constrain opportunities
  • Developing and practicing critical thinking abilities
  • Questioning everyday practices and modes of reasoning
  • Recognizing taken-for-granted assumptions guiding everyday life
  • Imagining alternatives that might disrupt the status quo
  • Transforming concern for marginalized members of society
  • Inspiring innovative solutions that promote equity and social justice
  • Becoming a critically-engaged citizen of our communities and workplaces
  • Promoting changes that can make a difference in the world

Immanuel KantProgram Statement

The Critical Theory minor is an interdisciplinary program offering students a variety of critical theories and perspectives for better understanding, critiquing, and transforming contemporary social realities. The ability to think critically is a primary aim of an undergraduate education, and a critical theory minor offers a useful way for students who are exploring other fields of study to develop a background in critical ways of engaging the world. Initial courses introduce major strands of critical thought and thinkers who established a foundation for the emergence of critical theorizing. The rich diversity of elective courses provides an exemplary interdisciplinary experience with opportunities to explore the reach and influence of critical theory.