Contested identities - critical conceptualisations of the human

Abstract

Critical Theory, insofar as it seeks to “liberate human beings from the circumstances that enslave them” (Horkheimer 1982: 244), continually engages with a critical conceptualisation of the subject of its enquiry – humanity – and the societies it inhabits. The third South African Society for Critical Theory annual conference took place on 22 and 23 November 2019 at the Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal on the theme “Contested Identities: Critical Conceptualisations of the Human”. The conference served to re-affirm the continuing relevance of critical theory for enquiring not just into contemporary society, but also for asking questions of our conceptualisations of the human and human identity.