POLS
401: Marxist Political Theory
Undoubtedly
one of the most influential philosophies of recent centuries, Marxism is also
one of the most controversial – not merely because of his putative links to 20th
century communist experiments, but because there remains today very little
agreement on what marxism is. Perhaps a function of an incompatibility of
marxism and the sort of doctrinal posturing typically coveted in political
theory, this lack of consensus is also surely due to the lack of attention paid
to Marx’s actual writings.
In this
class, we read Marx, Engels, and some of their varied interpreters to try to get
a handle on what it might mean to be a marxist. We
cover a lot of material in this class; readings are both very long and
remarkably difficult. The
course is organized around three interrelated themes. First, we examine Marx’s method and epistemology. Second,
we examine Marx’s politics – his critique of liberalism, and his theory of
agency. Third, we turn to Marx’s
economics, reading the bulk of the first volume of Capital.
Assignments include a paper on
Marx’s method, a group presentation on an optional book, and a final project
exploring the value of marxism for understanding the contemporary world