Henrik Hvenegaard

‘From reactive criticism to collaborate critique’

Abstract
In Denmark, critical thinking is celebrated in official discourse where it is considered thecornerstone of the nation’s future as a so-called ‘knowledge society’. This society, it is commonlyreiterated, will be based on creativity and innovation and therefore it is crucial that futuregenerations learn to be creative and innovative. Danish university students have in this contextbecome the living symbols of a new generation of ambitious citizens, who embody the liberalvalues of free thought, individualism and entrepreneurship. This paper discusses an important yetoverseen aspect within dominant discourse on university pedagogics: the facilitation of collaborateforms of critique. Rather than the undermining of arguments and search for methodologicalinconsistencies that has become synonymous with being ‘critical’ today—what I label ‘reactivecriticism’—I explore the potentials of a critical enterprise that involves a collaborative analyticalexploration.