It is constitutive for Critical Theory that it is linked to a moral and political ideal of self-reflexive enlightenment and emancipation. It is constitutive as well that such a theory is dependent on historical and cultural experiences. Theodor W. Adorno, the most prominent and intellectualy accomplished representative of Critical Theory made in Frankfurt, always has emphasized these constitutive elements.

Almost fifty years after the first climax of the - predominantly political - reception of the work of Adorno during the late 1960s, the conditions for reading his work obviously have changed a lot in the sign of so-called "globalization". For this reason the conference is interested in the following questions:

- What are the various local contexts of the reception of Adorno's work today?

- What does Adorno have to contribute to pushing questions of a globalized world? Questions of cosmopolitanism for example? Or of a critique of post-colonial power? Or of political strategies of anti-nationalist and internationalist movements?

Some 50 scholars will present their views on these questions during the conference.

Keynote lecturers include Rodrigo Duarte (Belo Horizonte/Brazil), Samir Gandesha (Vancouver/Canada), Gertrud Koch (Berlin/Germany), Giovanni Matteucci (Bologna/Italy), Cecilia Sjöholm (Stockholm/Sweden).