Kritik – en udfordrende nødvendighed

Abstract

This article discusses some of the questions and debates that both students and teachers currently face when grappling with critical thinking and its traditions within the social sciences and humanities. Explaining its diverse functions and necessities, the article argues for the continued relevance of critique, but it also explores some of the ‘genre’s’ internal points of contention, not least between what we might call the social critique inspired by Marx and others, and the artistic critique, inspired by Foucault. The article concludes by arguing that critique, regardless of its theoretical packaging, confronts particular challenges today that, instead of retreating into distance and incompatibility, invite us to seek mutual inspiration in theoretical and social differences.