Praxis Exiled: Herbert Marcuse and the One Dimensional University. Issue 4 (9th September 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cunningham, Joseph
• Is Part Of: Journal of philosophy of education. Volume 47:Issue 4(2013:Nov.)
• Page Start: 537
• Page End: 547
• Publication Date: 2013-09-09
• Subjects: Education -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; Education -- Great Britain -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; 370.1
• DOI: 10.1111/1467-9752.12037
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0309-8249

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>Leading Frankfurt School theorist, Herbert Marcuse, possessed an intricate relationship with higher education. As a professor, Marcuse participated in the 1960s student movements, believing that college students had potential as revolutionary subjects. Additionally, Marcuse advocated for a college education empowered by a form of praxis that extended education outside the university into realms of critical thought and action. However, the more pessimistic facet of his theory, best represented in the canonical <italic>One Dimensional Man</italic>, now seems to be the dominant ideology in the contemporary college experience. With the rise of the corporate university, knowledge is commodified and praxis is supplanted by rampant consumerism. Once a haven for critical theory, the college experience has been overtaken by capitalism, substantially limiting the revolutionary potential for college students in favour of an institutionalised, one dimensional university.</p> </abstract>