Marx: Politics and Culture

Few thinkers can lay claim to the level of sustained impact Karl Marx has achieved. From eco-socialist movements to contemporary investigations of digital capitalism, Marx's grip on the political and cultural imagination has only been further solidified in recent years. While seeking to come to terms with such relevance, this course turns first and foremost to the writings of Marx himself in order to gain insight into how he responded to the pressing issues of his own day. How does Marx deal with topics related to identity and nation in "On the Jewish Question," for example? How does Marx theorize new forms of value creation enabled by automation in the "Fragment on Machines"? In order to properly appreciate Marx's contemporary relevance, this course seeks to suggest, we must first understand his writings as a product of their own time and place. Readings will be available in both German and English.