Adorno in Singapore: Challenges of Teaching Humanities in the 21st Century

Abstract: This talk examines the relevance of critical theory in contemporary higher education in Singapore, using Theodor W. Adorno and Ernst Bloch’s 1964 conversation on the “Possibilities of Utopia Today” as a starting point. Their debate about the viability of utopia amid modern social and technological advancements frames a discussion on the tension between critical humanistic inquiry and the dominant focus on science, technology, and innovation in a postcolonial context. By contrasting Adorno’s skepticism of instrumental reason with Bloch’s emphasis on hope and utopian potential, the talk highlights the limitations of Western critical theory in addressing technocratic governance and economic pragmatism, particularly in the global South.

In Singapore, where STEM disciplines have historically been prioritized, what role—if any—can the humanities play in fostering critical reflection and ethical engagement with technology? How can we reconcile the ideals of transformative education with pressures from university management and global competitiveness? This context presents challenges in adapting Western critical theory to a technocentric society and prompts a reexamination of what “critical thinking” means in practice. How can the humanities move beyond traditional critique to engage meaningfully with technological and social realities in the 21st century?

By addressing these questions, the talk underscores academia’s responsibility to confront political and economic pressures while responding to global crises such as ecological collapse, neocolonialism, war, and genocide. It advocates for a critical pedagogy that challenges traditional humanities education, questioning its claims to transformation and its neglect of utopian perspectives.

Bio: Lorenz Hegel is a Lecturer in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences cluster at Singapore University of Technology and Design. He earned his Ph.D. in Film & Media Studies and German Studies from Yale in 2024, after studying philosophy and literature in Hildesheim, Berlin, and Paris. Lorenz has taught as a Visiting Lecturer at the Berlin University of the Arts (2022) and as an Instructor at the Yale Summer Session (2024). He works at the intersection of critical theory, aesthetics, and film and media studies, with a particular interest in the form and history of political documentary cinema. His current book project, tentatively entitled In Search of Revolution: Transnational Militant Documentary Practice, traces the history of transnational solidarity filmmaking from the late 1920s to the long sixties. Additional work in progress includes an article on contemporary archival documentaries, and a chapter on ideology critique, affect and film theory in the forthcoming edited volume “Aesthetics After Althusser.”