Abstract: | ABSTRACT The recent revival of interest in theory leads the writers to examine a particular moment when a curriculum and the institution in which it occurred was explained and justified. Max Horkheimer's inaugural address to the Institute for Social Research in 1931 is summarised. The points made by the new Director of the Institute are examined in relation not only to his proposal for an inter-disciplinary curriculum, but also to the nature of the institution and to the general justification of higher education. The article concludes with a number of comments on the relevance of these proposals to some modern higher education issues. |