Abstract

This note provides a discussion of the theoretical and political implications of Rita Felski’s proposal for a postcritical approach. After introducing postcritique and putting it in dialogue with two of its main inspirational sources – Eve K. Sedgwick and Bruno Latour – the note focuses on its political commitments: the need for a thorough analysis before the quest for political relevance, the willingness to provide a more sophisticated account of the relation between academia and social actors, and the formulation of a better argument in defence of the humanities. A final set of questions is posed via critical authors Theodor W. Adorno and Nancy Fraser: to what extent is it possible to overcome critique without getting rid of both its democratic and its emancipatory promises? And how can postcritique be appealing to the progressive social constituencies that found in critique a powerful ally?