Marxist Theory & Its Relevance

Course Description

We study the essential works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, as well as their philosophical precursors and some influential variations of Marxism in the 20th century. In considering philosophical idealism and social change, historical and dialectical materialism, modes of production, and the relationship between structure and superstructure, we ask whether or not Marxist theory can explain current processes of social, political, and economic change. Perhaps most important, we try to apply Marxist theory in its many variations to pressing issues of our time, including identity, multiculturalism, racial and gender oppression, the ecological crisis, terrorism, war, and globalization. In addition to Marx and Engels, we read works by Hegel, Lukács, Gramsci, Althusser, Marcuse, Habermas, Immanuel Wallerstein, Samir Amin, and John Bellamy Foster.