Criticism has suffered a serious blow in late capitalism - in the humanities and social sciences, contemporary arts, journalism, indeed in everyday life. Critical thought and argument have been ‘made safe’ for a postmodernity with infinitely expanding social and professional networks, in which the right to personal opinion, feeling, and identity-based analysis equalises (e)valuations of thought, publications, works of art, politics, film, sound, economy, even science.

The first of BICAR’s series on Interpretive Methods, this course is a theoretical and practical effort to revive a critical spirit in our contemporary times.