A phd thesis at the College of Fine Arts, University of Basra, examined Frankfurt's critical theory and its procedural mechanisms in contemporary international painting
 The thesis presented by researcher Aseel Intissar Hashem included the subject of the Frankfurt School of criticism and its response to negative, social, intellectual and political phenomena in Europe through deep criticism of the prevailing concepts and values ​​such as alienation and reification.
The thesis discussed the intellectual and aesthetic foundations of Frankfurt Critical Theory and the mechanisms and procedures of critical theory that can be applied in contemporary international painting. The thesis concluded that the Frankfurt Critical School constitutes an important turning point in the course of European thought due to its effectiveness in formulating a critical theory that deals with the institution and its ideology with a critical and protest dimension.