While critical social theory came to call itself critical social theory in the 20th century, under the influence of social critics like Habermas and Horkheimer, it traces its genealogy to Marx and other 19th century philosophers who were engaged with the philosophy of Hegel. These "new Hegelians" sought to take the anti-empiricist thinking of Hegel and apply it practically to existing social situations for the purpose of changing society. One of the key principles of critical theory is to identify the relations between ideas, culture and material conditions, like economic deprivation and political power.
Critical social theory was long seen as the province of academics, and the first community colleges were founded in response to the Progressive Era's embrace of the vocational education movement, around the turn of the 20th century. Vocational education was seen as a strictly pragmatic venture, teaching necessary skills to teachers, nurses and other (then) non-degreed professionals and crafts-persons. This began to change in a short time, as two-year colleges diversified in their missions in response to specific community needs. Critical theory was seen as having no place among students who had already been sorted by class and expected educational outcomes.
As two-year colleges continued to evolve into many different kinds of learning institutions, more of the community colleges began to see themselves as a bridge to higher education. Moreover, as certain professions, again using nursing as an example, began to embrace the value of a more liberal education as an essential part of the job, for example, understanding sociological influences on patients, critical theory became more acceptable as part of the two-year curriculum.
Research on community college transfers to four-year institutions has shown that the older students coming from community colleges often demonstrate greater "emotional intelligence," or maturity and sensitivity to the ambiguities of life. This emotional intelligence is believed to translate into a more ready apprehension of the critical thinking implied by critical social theory.
Interdisciplinary approaches have blurred the taxonomic lines between academic subjects, and critical theory has become an important part of social science generally, finding niches in sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology and other disciplines. Students today who are attending two-year schools with an eye to transferring to a four-year school can find critical theory courses in many community colleges.