The Institute defined itself as a bridge joining European theory with American empirical methods

Evidence

Earlier German sociology, which had tended to be rather more theoretical, and also the newest, most efficient empirical social science methods developed in the USA, would be given equal emphasis in the teaching programme at the Institute. This was an extension of his characterization of his own work as a combination of European ideas and American methods, a description that had long since degenerated into a mere formula, but also applied to the role of the Institute and its director as a bridge between the USA and Germany. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 469

Categorization

• XREF: Links directly to the book-so-far material on Horkheimer courting American funding and the Institute’s return from exile; the bridge role is institutionalized in the teaching programme. — connects to: Combining European theory with American empirical methods was the Institute’s long-sought goal. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 434; Horkheimer sought to fuse European critical theory with American empirical methods — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1520; The Institute concluded it needed an official American institutional identity — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 578 (+5 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Combining European theory with American empirical methods was the Institute’s long-sought goal. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 434; Horkheimer sought to fuse European critical theory with American empirical methods — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1520; The Institute concluded it needed an official American institutional identity — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 578 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Horkheimer sought to fuse European critical theory with American empirical methods #corroborates (0.95) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 1520
• The Institute’s American empirical turn traded revolutionary aims for New Deal liberalism #complicates (0.83) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 679
• The Institut planned to teach Americans social science techniques to counter German speculation #complicates (0.72) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 846