16050x

WiSe 20/21: Online: Contemporary Marxism

Lillian Cicerchia

Information for students

This course will be taught completely online. The instructor will record a lecture in a "podcast" format, which on most weeks will include an interview or discussion with someone who is close to the subject matter, in order to give students historical, political, and ideological context for what we are learning in class. (1) Students should read the text, listen to the podcast, and come to class with questions about the topic. (2) Each class meeting will start with small group discussions for 30 minutes, and then we will have a discussion with the whole group for the last 45 minutes of the class. (3) If a student cannot attend a discussion session for any reason, then they can write a response paper to the reading/recording to maintain their active participation status. (4) Students will also sign-up to attend one, hopefully in-person, extra-curricular meeting to talk about one of the main themes of the course with the instructor in a small group. Students can sign-up for these meetings at the beginning of the semester. close

Comments

This course will first study Marx and then contemporary Marxist thought regarding the philosophy of history, social class, the state, racism, and social reproduction. The focus will be on Marxism as a living, breathing area of social philosophy since the 1980‘s. Reading list: Contemporary Marxism 1. Introductory class, Vivek Chibber (1) Why Capitalists Understand Capitalism But Intellectuals Don't and (2) The Difference Between Socialism and Marxism (videos) Class Structure 2. Erik Olin Wright, “Rethinking, once again, the concept of class structure” 3. Karl Marx, Capital: Volume 1, Part 3, Ch. 7 & 8 (25 p) 4. Karl Marx, Capital: Volume 1, Part 3, Ch. 9 & 10, Section 1-4, 7 (30 p) History 5. Robert Brenner, “Property and Progress: Where Adam Smith Went Wrong” 6. Ellen Meiksins Wood, “History or Technological Determinism?” Capital Accumulation and Class Conflict 7. Anwar Sheikh, “Real Competition” 8. Claus Offe and Helmut Weisenthal, “The Two Logics of Collective Action” 9. Lise Vogel, “The Reproduction of Labor Power” Class Formation: Race, Gender 10. Lillian Cicerchia, “Why Does Class Matter?” 11. Barbara Jean Fields, “Slavery, Race, and Ideology in the United States of America” Recommended: Manning Marable, Race, Reform, and Rebellion, “The Cold War in Black America, 1945-1954” 12. Angela Davis, Women, Race, and Class, “The Myth of the Black Rapist” The State 13. Claus Offe, Structural Problems of the Capitalist State Recommended: Vivek Chibber, Capitalism and the State (video) 14. Fred Block, The Ruling Class Does Not Rule Recommended: Adam Przeworski, “Social democracy as a historical phenomenon”, in Capitalism and Social Democracy, (Cambridge: Cambridge Univesity Press, 1985), Chapter 1. close