11 Adorno’s critique of Halbbildung Mapping an emancipatory educational program for critical consciousness Rattier Carlo V. Abengana Introduction: why Adorno? The mainstream scholarship on Theodor Adorno (1903-1969) often under - scores his critique of society and culture in general, highlighting his reflections on the evils of modern capitalism, thereby making the Culture Industry as one of the most oft-cited theories in the wide range of subjects he has written on. But beyond this, Adorno also offered some thought-provoking insights regarding the education, formation, and development of an individual and society. Shedding light on this is a way of responding to the call for a “renewed understanding of the meaning of education’'. Adorno’s name is almost synonymous with the term “Culture Industry”. His ruminations on the oppression and domination that happen beyond the work- place have indeed sparked a great number of discussions. However important, it would also be worthwhile to shift our attention from discussions about the “damaged life” to a way out of it. Certainly, the former substantiates our search for the latter. As such, the significance of shedding light on Adorno’s educa- tional theory lies precisely in accentuating education’s emancipatory role. The way to freedom must begin in making man realize the negative conditions in which he is in. The small percentage of engagement with Adorno’s reflections on education, especially in English literature, may perhaps be due to the limited (in number, not in content) primary sources in which he directly dealt with the topic. Only three sources,1 none of which are book length, come to mind: “ Erziehung nach Auschwitz ”, “Erziehung zur Mundigkeit” (conversations with Hellmut Becker), and “Theorie der Halbbildung”. This is understandable because Adorno is not so much a philosopher of education or a theorist in critical pedagogy with the same level of extensive focus on the topic that Paulo Freire or Henry Giroux, for instance, have. But as our educational system is evidently exhibiting its characteristically socially mediated feature, it seems plausible that a renewed perspective on education might also be construed in the backdrop of critical theory. This chapter will thus be broadly divided into two main sections: first, I provide a 11 Adorno's critique of Halbbildung Mapping an emancipatory educational program for critical consciousness Ranier Carlo V. Abengaiia Introduction: why Adorno? The mainstream scholarship on Theodor Adorno (1903-1969) often under- scores his critique of society and culture in general, highlighting his reflections on the evils of modern capitalism, thereby making the Culture Industry as one of the most oft-cited theories in the wide range of subjects he has written on. But beyond this, Adorno also offered some thought-provoking insights regarding the education, formation, and development of an individual and society. Shedding light on this is a way of responding to the call for a "renewed understanding of the meaning of education". Adorno's name is almost synonymous with the term "Culture Industry". His ruminations on the oppression and domination that happen beyond the work- place have indeed sparked a great number of discussions. However important, it would also be worthwhile to shift our attention from discussions about the "damaged life" to a way out of it. Certainly, the former substantiates our search for the latter. As such, the significance of shedding light on Adorno's educa- tional theory lies precisely in accentuating education's emancipatory role. The way to freedom must begin in making man realize the negative conditions in which he is in. The small percentage of engagement with Adorno's reflections on education, especially in English literature, may perhaps be due to the limited (in number, not in content) primary sources in which he directly dealt with the topic. Only three sources, 1 none of which are book length, come to mind: "Erziehung nach Auschwitz", "Erziehung zur Mundigkeit" ( conversations with Hellmut Becker), and "Theorie der Halbbildung". This is understandable because Adorno is not so much a philosopher of education or a theorist in critical pedagogy with the same level of extensive focus on the topic that Paulo Freire or Henry Giroux, for instance, have. But as our educational system is evidently exhibiting its characteristically socially mediated feature, it seems plausible that a renewed perspective on education might also be construed in the backdrop of critical theory. This chapter will thus be broadly divided into two main sections: first, I provide a