ENGL 456
Topics in Critical Theory: Marx and Marxism Spring 2017
Division I
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

This course is for students of any major who wish to continue studying critical, cultural, or literary theory. Students will give close attention to a single theorist or philosophical school or perhaps to a single question as taken up by several theorists. Prior coursework in critical theory or continental philosophy, no matter the department, is strongly recommended. The subject of this semester’s seminar is Marx and Marxism. Everybody knows that Marx was the great enemy of capitalism, but just saying that doesn’t tell you much. So what is the second thing you want to say about Marx? Is there, for instance, anything distinctive about his reasons for not liking capitalism? Is everyone who opposes capitalism a Marxist? Or in order to count as a Marxist, do you have to dislike capitalism in a particular way? Just as important: Can you be a Marxist and not talk about capitalism? Is capitalism Marx’s sole and exclusive concern? Or is there perhaps a Marxist method, maybe even a Marxist philosophy, that could be directed towards objects other than capitalist ones? We will spend the semester trying to grapple with the specificity of Marx’s thought. What is unusual about how Marx thinks about capitalism? And could we think that way about other things, too?
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 15
Expected: 15
Class#: 3308
Grading: no pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: regular attendance, informal weekly writing, 25-page seminar paper
Extra Info: may not be taken on a pass/fail basis
Prerequisites: none
Distributions: Division I
Attributes: AMST Critical and Cultural Theory Electives
ENGL Criticism Courses

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