Frankfurt School is a group of German intellectuals associated with the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt, founded in the early 20th century. The Frankfurt School is known for Critical Theory, Marxist cultural critique, and sociological analysis of modernity, mass culture, and ideology.
✅ A. Walter Benjamin
Associated with the Frankfurt School: ✔️ Yes
Though not formally a member of the Institute, Benjamin was closely associated with members like Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer.
His works (e.g., The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction) heavily influenced the Frankfurt School’s critique of culture and media.
✅ D. Max Horkheimer
Associated with the Frankfurt School: ✔️ Yes
A core founding member and director of the Institute for Social Research.
Known for co-authoring Dialectic of Enlightenment with Adorno and advancing the concept of Critical Theory.
✅ E. Leo Löwenthal
Associated with the Frankfurt School: ✔️ Yes
A major figure in the Institute, Löwenthal worked extensively on mass culture, literature, and sociology of culture.
His studies on the impact of mass media align with the School’s critique of culture industry.
❌ B. Laura Mulvey
Associated with the Frankfurt School: ❌ No
Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist, best known for her essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975), where she introduced the concept of the "male gaze."
Her work is rooted in psychoanalytic theory and feminism, not in Frankfurt School critical theory.
❌ C. Travis Henderson
Associated with the Frankfurt School: ❌ No
This appears to be either a fictional name or a misdirection, as there is no notable critical theorist by this name associated with any major intellectual tradition.
Year-wise PYQs
