Information Package / Course Catalogue
Critical Theory
Course Code: GZT329
Course Type: Area Elective
Couse Group: First Cycle (Bachelor's Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: N/A
Theory: 3
Prt.: 0
Credit: 3
Lab: 0
ECTS: 5
Objectives of the Course

The aim of this course is to enable students to understand the development of critical thinking and critical thinking styles, the currents of thought that have been formed since its emergence, the current reflections of these currents and critical thinking practices.

Course Content

In the course, critical theorists and various movements, schools and their reflections on social, political and economic life will be discussed.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Prof. Hüseyin ÇELİK
Learning Outcomes
1.Will be able to explain the basic approaches (liberal and critical approaches) that shape the field of mass communication.
2.Will be able to explain the basic concepts, background and historical classification of the critical approach.
3.Will be able to analyze the main divergence points and features of each approach constituting the critical paradigm.
4.Will be able to evaluate the critical approach's view of the media environment as a whole at the level of production, product.
5.Will be able to evaluate the theoretical principles of the critical approach and its reflections on daily life.
Recommended or Required Reading
1.Bottomore, Tom (1997). Frankfurt Okulu. Ankara: Vadi Yayınları.
2.Erdoğan, İrfan (2001). “Kitle İletişimi Örneğiyle Marksist Siyasal Ekonomi Yaklaşımı Üzerine Bir Tartışma”. Praxis. Güz. Sayı 4. ss. 276-313.
3.Garnham, Nicholas (2008). “Bir Kültürel Materyalizm Teorisine Doğru”. İletişim Çalışmalarında Kırılmalar ve Uzlaşmalar içinde. (Der.)Sevilay Çelenk. Ankara: DeKi Basım Yayım.
4.Geuss, Raymond (2002). Eleştirel Teori: Habermas ve Frankfurt Okulu. Ayrıntı Yayınları.
5.Golding, Peter ve Murdock, Graham (2002). “Kültür, İletişim ve Ekonomi Politik”. Medya Kültür Siyaset içinde. (Der.) Süleyman İrvan. Ankara: Alp Yayınevi.
6.Hall, Stuart (2008). “Kültürel Çalışmalar ve Teorik Mirası”. İletişim Çalışmalarında Kırılmalar ve Uzlaşmalar içinde. (Der.)Sevilay Çelenk. Ankara: DeKi Basım Yayım.
7.Kellner, Douglas (2008). “Ayrımın Üstesinden Gelmek: Kültürel Çalışmalar ve Ekonomi-Politik”. İletişim Çalışmalarında Kırılmalar ve Uzlaşmalar içinde. (Der.)Sevilay Çelenk. Ankara: DeKi Basım Yayım.
8.Krogh, Thomas (1994). “Frankfurt Okulunun Kültür Analizi”. Medya İktidar İdeoloji içinde, (Der.) Mehmet Küçük. Ankara: Ark.
9.Mutlu, Erol (2012). İletişim Sözlüğü, Ankara: Ark Yayınları.
10.Slack, J. Darly ve Martin Allor (1997). “Eleştirel İletişim Araştırmalarının Politik ve Epistemolojik Kökenleri”. Ankara Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Yayınları. Yıllık 94-95. ss. 263-274.
11.Smith, Philip (2005). Kültürel Kuram. İstanbul: Babil Yayınları.
12.Tomlinson, John (1999), Kültürel Emperyalizm: Eleştirel Bir Giriş. İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları.
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
Traditional Theory and Critical Theory
Week 2 - Theoretical
Western Marxism and Hegel
Week 3 - Theoretical
Gramsci: The Theory of Hegemony
Week 4 - Theoretical
Economic-Political Approaches: Garnham
Week 5 - Theoretical
Frankfurt School: Horkheimer, Adorno
Week 6 - Theoretical
Frankfurt School: Marcuse, Benjamin ve Habermas
Week 7 - Theoretical
Frankfurt School and Media
Week 8 - Theoretical
Cultural Studies: Williams and Hall
Week 9 - Theoretical
Language that dominates critical approaches
Week 10 - Theoretical
Structuralism: Saussure
Week 11 - Theoretical
Semiotics: Barthes and Eco
Week 12 - Theoretical
Post Structuralism: Derrida
Week 13 - Theoretical
Postmodernism: Lyotart, Jameson and Baudrillard - Phenomenology: Husserl
Week 14 - Theoretical
Psychoanalysis: Freud, Lacan, and Zizek - Postmarxism: Laclau and Mouffe
Week 15 - Final Exam
Final Exam
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Midterm Examination1%40
Final Examination1%60
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory133378
Individual Work101230
Midterm Examination18210
Final Examination18210
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)128
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
PÇ-1
PÇ-2
PÇ-3
PÇ-4
PÇ-5
PÇ-6
PÇ-7
PÇ-8
PÇ-9
PÇ-10
PÇ-11
PÇ-12
PÇ-13
OÇ-1
4
5
5
OÇ-2
4
5
5
OÇ-3
4
5
5
OÇ-4
4
5
5
OÇ-5
4
5
5
Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026