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A Concept of Autonomy for Critical Communication Studies

Stanford University, johnwkim{at}stanford.edu

The concept of autonomy has had an integral and enduring role in political economic reflection on the relationship between culture and the economy. A prevailing version of the concept, developed in postmodernist scholarship, has suggested the erosion, if not complete demise, of autonomy. The article contends that autonomy, as an aesthetic concept in these debates, has mainly overlooked its function in critical thinking about capitalism's expansion to the sphere of culture. By building on recent research on the Frankfurt School, in particular, the work of Theodor Adorno, it is possible to reassert the importance of a version of the concept of autonomy in the critical analysis of culture today.

Key Words: autonomy • critical studies • Adorno • postmodernism • aesthetics

This version was published on April 1, 2009

Journal of Communication Inquiry, Vol. 33, No. 2, 126-142 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0196859908329083


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