The present study details the theoretical and pedagogical development of an experimental cultural studies in education seminar. Specifically, we explore the societal ends of education, and the means they prefigure, through a meditation on the catastrophe of the present. This will involve theorizing this historical moment, thinking through the educational questions posed by this work of contemporary historical study, and developing pedagogical practices appropriate to our present circumstance. To do so, the study will draw upon the work of Theodor Adorno and Stuart Hall, and it will conclude with a reflection on this theoretical and pedagogical study that discusses future directions of study in this project.