Please join us for the launch of Jordi Maiso’s book ‘From Damaged Life: The Critical Theory of Theodor W. Adorno’ with Peter Osborne (CRMEP), Svenja Bromberg (Goldsmiths) and Andrés Saenz de Sicilia (Northeastern). It is organised by the Centre for Philosophy and Critical Theory (CPCT) at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Friday, 9 Oct 2026, 17:00 – 19:00
Central Saint Martins, Granary Building
1 Granary Square, Kings Cross, London, N1C 4AA
*NB – this event will take place at Central Saint Martins Granary Square building due to ongoing industrial action at Goldsmiths. Room information will be added shortly. Registration is essential*
Attendance is free, but registration is essential: https://damagedlife.eventbrite.com
About the book:
‘From Damaged Life: The Critical Theory of Theodor W. Adorno’ is a timely intervention in contemporary debates on critical theory, the critique of capitalism, authoritarianism, and social regression. Moving beyond interpretations that confine Adorno primarily to aesthetics or negative dialectics, the book reconstructs his thought as a historically grounded critical theory of advanced capitalism, rooted in the catastrophic experiences of fascism, Auschwitz, and the consolidation of new forms of domination.
At the centre of Maiso’s interpretation lies Adorno’s concept of “damaged life,” understood as a framework for analysing the social production of suffering, the anthropological transformation of subjectivity, and the persistence of unfreedom under conditions of total socialization. Rearticulating Adorno in close relation to Marx’s critique of political economy, the book foregrounds his relevance for analysing fetishism, culture industry, ideological transformation, authoritarian potential, and the blocked horizons of emancipation in contemporary capitalist societies.
About the author:
Jordi Maiso is Associate Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid. His work focuses on Frankfurt School Critical Theory and its contemporary relevance, particularly the thought of Theodor W. Adorno. Bringing together Critical Theory and the critique of political economy, his research examines the social constitution of subjectivity and the transformations of social experience under advanced capitalism. He has published extensively on Critical Theory, aesthetics, social philosophy, the mutations of the culture industry, and authoritarianism. Maiso is Editor-in-Chief of Constelaciones. Revista de Teoría Crítica, Chair of the Spanish Society for Critical Theory Studies (SETC), and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Adorno Studies.
