In On the Way to Theory, Lawrence Grossberg introduces the major ways of thinking that provide the backstory for contemporary Western theory. Asking readers to think about thinking, Grossberg traces cultural and critical theory’s foundations from the contested enlightenments to modern and postmodern conceptualizations of power, experience, language, and existence. He introduces key figures as historical characters and lays out the unique set of tools for thought that their “deep theories” offer. Through finely tuned and accessible descriptions of their concepts and logics, Grossberg highlights thinkers including Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze, and Hall, defining the possibilities of their thought. This book is essential for those interested in how theories shape our understanding of the world, influence our choices, and define our realities. It challenges us to recognize the multiplicity and complexities of ways of thinking in our quest for knowledge and understanding. By setting out a story of theoretical foundations, Grossberg invites readers to think toward the future of theory and expand conversations around theoretical scrutiny and criticism.
- Cover
- Contents
- Preface
- It Takes a Community . . .
- Introduction
- I. On Thinking about Thinking
- Lecture 1. Thinking and Theorizing
- Lecture 2. Modernity, Crisis, Politics (First Interregnum)
- II. Enlightenment Routes
- Lecture 3. Beginnings
- Lecture 4. Enlightenment(s)
- Lecture 5. Rationalism and Descartes
- Lecture 6. Empiricism and Hume
- Lecture 7. Spinoza
- A Brief Coffee Break
- III. Modern Routes
- Modern Beginnings
- Lecture 8. Kant’s Copernican Revolution
- Lecture 9. Kant and Critique
- Lecture 10. Hegel and Dialectics
- Lecture 11. Hegel and Totality
- Lecture 12. Second Modernity (Second Interregnum)
- Power and the Limits of Reason
- Lecture 13. Marx and Dialectical Materialism
- Lecture 14. Marx and Historical Materialism
- Lecture 15. Nietzsche
- Lecture 16. Psychoanalysis and Freud
- Phenomenology
- Lecture 17. Phenomenology and Husserl
- Lecture 18. Heidegger
- Linguistic Turns
- Lecture 19. Pragmatism
- Lecture 20. Wittgenstein
- Lecture 21. Structuralism
- Lecture 22. Structuralism and Subjectivity
- Lecture 23. The Postmodern (Third Interregnum)
- IV. Routes into the Post
- Lecture 24. Heidegger Again
- Lecture 25. Poststructuralism and Derrida
- Lecture 26. Deleuze
- V. Contextual Humilities
- Lecture 27. Deleuze and Guattari
- Lecture 28. Foucault and Critique
- Lecture 29. Foucault and Knowledge/Power
- Lecture 30. Stuart Hall
- Postscript
- Bibliography
- Index
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Z
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