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Nature, sociology, and the Frankfurt School

Posted on:2015-09-21Degree:Ph.DType:Dissertation
University:Michigan State UniversityCandidate:Gunderson, RyanFull Text:PDF
GTID:1455390005481412Subject:Sociology
Abstract/Summary:
Through a systematic analysis of the works of Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, and Erich Fromm using historical methods, I document how early critical theory can conceptually and theoretically inform sociological examinations of human-nature relations. Currently, the first-generation Frankfurt School's work is largely absent from and criticized in environmental sociology. I address this gap in the literature through a series of articles. One line of analysis establishes how the theories of Horkheimer, Adorno, and Marcuse are applicable to central topics and debates in environmental sociology. A second line of analysis examines how the Frankfurt School's explanatory and normative theories of human-animal relations can inform sociological animal studies. The third line examines the place of nature in Fromm's social psychology and sociology, focusing on his personality theory's notion of "biophilia."...
Keywords/Search Tags:Sociology, Frankfurt
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