Module PHL2040 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2040: Critical Theory: The Frankfurt School and Communicative Capitalism
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discussion in lecture/seminars | Prepare answers to questions on the set readings for the discussion | 1-5 | Oral |
| Individual discussion of essay outlines | Essay outline | 1-7 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 70 | 2,500 words | 1-7 | Written |
| 2 x Reading Summaries | 30 | 2 x 500 words | 1-7 | Oral and Written |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (2,500 words) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment period |
| 2 x Reading Summaries | Reading Summaries (2 x 500 words) | 1-7 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
- Beverly Best, Werner Bonefeld and Chris O’Kane, The SAGE HANDBOOK of Critical Theory, 2018.
- Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer: ‘The Dialectic of Enlightenment’ (1944/2002) Stanford University Press.
- Theodor W. Adorno: ‘Minima Moralia’ (2005), Verso.
- Jodi Dean, J. (2005). ‘Communicative Capitalism: Circulation and the Foreclosure of Politics’, Cultural Politics, 1(1), pp. 51-74.
- Erich Fromm: ‘Escape from Freedom’ (2011), Ishi Press.
- Nancy Fraser Redistribution and Recognition (2013).
- Christian Fuchs, Anxiety and Politics in the New Age of Authoritarian Capitalism, Triple C (2017).
- Axel Honneth, ‘Disrespect. The Normative Foundations of Critical Theory’ (2007), Polity Press.
- Threbor Scholz, Digital Labor, Tayor and Francis, 2013.
- Ritu Vij, The global subject of precarity (2019).
