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- House of Theory: 100 Years of History of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research
- Author: Working Group Social Criticism and Alternative
- Publisher: Aprilbooks
- Date: 2025
- From the traces of destroyed buildings to the genealogy of vanished female researchers
Rewriting the 100-year history of the Frankfurt School
Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Erich Fromm, Herbert Marcuse, Jürgen Habermas, Axel Honneth – all of them have left a profound mark on philosophy and the humanities and social sciences with their work. If there is one name that unites these scholars, it is "Frankfurt School." Founded in 1923 at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, the Frankfurt School celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. It is extremely rare for a school to maintain its focus for a century while continually generating new concepts. While early Critical Theory exposed the violent reality of National Socialism and Fascism, the subsequent generation reinterpreted the oppression and pathology of modern society. This occurred, for example, through concepts such as the colonization of the lifeworld (Habermas) or the struggle for recognition (Honneth).
The Frankfurt School was founded in 1923 at the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. This book, however, goes a step further. It does not focus on the intellectual genealogy of great male intellectuals, but rather on the history of the Institute for Social Research itself—the birthplace of the Frankfurt School and Critical Theory. It reconstructs the complex history of this so-called "House of Theory." From the traces of the destroyed building to the genealogy of the missing researchers, various approaches illuminate the diverse contexts of Critical Theory.
Another focus of the book is the "aesthetics of critical theory." Korean researchers reinterpret the aesthetics of Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, and Siegfried Kracauer. In doing so, they thoroughly examine the intersections between their aesthetic thoughts and social, political, and historical philosophy, for example, in the areas of media aesthetics and perception theory, critique of violence and art criticism, as well as existential aesthetics and popular culture.
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- European Border History
- The History of Exclusion and Coexistence
- Author: Yong-gu Cha
- Publisher: Hanul
- Date: 2025
- The boundary that separates two countries is often perceived by people as an exclusive border. The focus is thereby placed on its function as a shield for sovereignty, territory, and population. As in classical border theory, the border between countries is sometimes viewed as immutable, sacred, and transhistorical.
Historically, however, people in border regions have formed spaces of cooperation and coexisted based on a hybrid identity. Examples include: Ancient Rome, which maintained contact with the Germanic peoples across its border regions. The Cossacks of Ukraine, who revitalized the remote region "beyond the rapids." The port of Königsberg, where diverse peoples and knowledge gathered, forming the basis for Kant's philosophy.
In this way, borders became cultural contact zones, or "borderlands," where diverse cultures and systems resonated with one another and overcame the backwardness of the periphery. The author suggests that the border location itself is a source of strength and creativity. Furthermore, he points out that the concept of the border has been used to promote the unity of national culture and patriotism by exaggerating conflicts. In conjunction with a country's one-sided historiography, events in the border regions were distorted even more exclusively. In this book, cities are visited where many layers have historically overlapped at the borders. The "intertwined history," which spans epochs and spaces from Western Europe to Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean, and even extending to Europe's colonial era, will lead readers beyond the dichotomy of center and periphery to a history of relationships.
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- Community of Mistrust
- And thoughts about disability
- Author: Working Group Social Criticism and Alternative
- Publisher: Aprilbooks
- Date: 2024
- A New Solidarity Born of Distrust
Reflections on the Relationship Between Democracy and Distrust
Democracy begins with distrust, but not all distrust is the same. A healthy democracy is impossible without citizens' distrust of the government's authoritarian administration. However, a distinction must be made between democratic distrust and destructive distrust. While democratic distrust serves as a check on power, destructive distrust damages social relationships and leads to political extremism.
The phenomenon of the "community of distrust," which emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, is particularly noteworthy. Progressives and conservatives, feminists and doomsayers, doctors and the unemployed—diverse individuals who would never normally gather in one place—united under the banner of "distrust" regarding vaccination policies. On the other hand, exclusive tribalism, in which one blindly trusts only the voices of one's own side and completely distrusts the opposing side, also hinders political progress. Since when has distrust become rampant?
This book directly addresses the problem of "mistrust" that pervades modern society. It analyzes in detail how mistrust gives rise to new forms of communities, what types of mistrust communities exist, why this phenomenon occurs, and what impact it has on our society.
Another important focus of this book is the "definition of disability." It is noteworthy that prejudices and discrimination against people with disabilities exhibit a structure similar to that found in mistrust communities. If there is a heterogeneous solidarity that has arisen from prejudices against people with disabilities, then these are people who could never come together without prejudice. How should we deal with such mistrust communities? This book seeks fundamental solutions to the problem of mistrust through a broad examination of mistrust communities, culminating in the definition of disability.
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- Pornography and the Problem of Youth
- Author: Working Group Social Criticism and Alternative
- Publisher: Aprilbooks
- Date: 2024
- In times of “gender war” and “gender conflict”—which voices should we listen to and which should we respond to?
This book not only presents current debates surrounding “pornography” but also listens to the perspectives of young people on the “gender conflict of the younger generation.” The Korean special edition, in particular, to which five young researchers in their thirties made significant contributions, offers a valuable opportunity to hear the voices of young researchers on youth issues directly. This includes a study on masculinity on “Ilbe,” a critical reshaping of the discourse of the younger generation, participant observation of feminist women in their twenties, an examination of the political significance of the gender conflict, and reflections from activists who have been involved in local “youth politics.”
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- Domestic Violence and Populism
- Author: Team Social Criticism and Alternatives
- Publisher: Aprilbooks
- Date: 2023
- Why Does Domestic Violence Persist in a Society That Condemns Violence?
Is the Rise of Harsh Politics Solely the Result of Populism?
Modern people abhor violence. We demand appropriate punishment for school bullies and express sympathy for victims. When it comes to visible violence that draws media attention, we all stand firmly against it. Yet, once we turn to the private sphere of the family and intimate relationships, the picture changes. We are strikingly insensitive to the small and large acts of violence that occur in close relationships. What prevails there is silence. Considered too trivial, or at times too private to be spoken of anywhere, this unspoken violence is what we call domestic violence.
This book weaves together the “microscopic” issue of domestic violence and the “macroscopic” issue of populism, exploring the problematic conditions of contemporary society—from the everyday life of families to the larger structures of politics. Why does domestic violence persist even in a society that condemns violence? By dissecting the issue from multiple angles, the book critiques both our limited sensitivity to violence—focused only on the forms highlighted by the media—and the narrow direction of violence research. At the same time, it presents new possibilities for research that pays attention to the contexts and structures in which domestic violence repeatedly occurs.
Likewise, in the case of today’s populism, what deserves attention is not merely the harsh face of politics. More important is recognizing that the grievances of politically marginalized groups are often expressed through populism. Even if we criticize fandom politics and populist phenomena, the crisis of democracy will not be easily resolved unless the marginalized are effectively integrated into democratic politics. This book cautions against blind enthusiasm for populism, yet urges us to listen to the issues it raises. It probes the ambivalent relationship between democracy and populism, and seeks proper strategies for responding to the challenges populism presents.
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- German Unification Incomplete
- Looking back on 30 years of German Unification
- Author: Sungbok Cho et.al.
- Publisher: Hanul
- Date: 2022
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- Meritocracy and Feminism
- Author: Team Social Criticism and Alternatives
- Publisher: Aprilbooks
- Date: 2021
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- Tocqueville and the Paradox of Equality
- How can equality leads to hatred and depression?
- Author: Team Social Criticism and Alternatives
- Publisher: Aprilbooks
- Date: 2020
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- Homophobia
- Who are afraid of Homosexuality?
- Author: Team Social Criticism and Alternatives
- Publisher: Aprilbooks
- Date: 2019
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- 1968
- Dynamics of the Resistance and the Criticism of the System
- Author: Dong Gyu Shin and Chun Ip Lee, eds.
- Publisher: Hanul
- Date: 2019
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