From discrimination to deconstruction: four modulations of criticality in the humanities and social sciences

Abstract

Criticality is often specified as a key performance criterion in higher education, particularly in humanities and social science disciplines, yet it is by no means an unproblematic term to define. Four dominant conceptions of criticality are here identified, three as developments of or responses to Enlightenment rationalism and one in self-conscious opposition to Enlightenment assumptions. The appropriateness of each of these to work in the cultural field is considered and a preference for greater emphasis on deconstructive approaches in exploratory study is explained.