Philosophy 482: Seminar on Karl Marx
Dr. James Luchte
Britt Hall 214
E-mail Dr. James Luchte
540-365-4324
Office Hours: MWF 10-10:50AM and by appointment
Seminar on Karl Marx
2:00 - 3:15PM
Garber 127
Marx and the Sacred
Reading Schedule
Course Description:
Before Philosophy
We will begin with an exploration of the poetry of Marx in order to
ascertain his pre-philosophical perspective on the nature of existence,
with a special emphasis upon his notion of the Sacred.
Karl Marx: Selected Poetry
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From Philosophy to Praxis
We will investigate Marx's criticisms of philosophy, most prominently, his
Paris Manuscripts of 1844, Theses on Feuerbach, and The Poverty of Philosophy.
Paris Manuscripts
Theses on Feuerbach
The Poverty of Philosophy
Pierre Joseph Proudhon: The Philosophy of Misery (The Philosophy of Poverty)
Deconstructing Capital
We will explore Marx's deconstruction of the political economy of capitalism
in his magnum opus Capital, his Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy
and his other political economic writings.
A Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy
Capital: Volume I
The Fetishism of Commodities
Hugo Gellert: Karl Marx's Capital in Lithographs
The Development of Machinery
Ideology and Power
We will investigate Marx's theory of ideology in relation to his analysis of
the ownership and control of information and the means of information-production by
the capitalist class, its supporters, and agents.
The German Ideology
Histories of the Present
We will explore Marx's on-hand accounts of political events and transformations
in Europe, America, and around the world.
Articles on the United States Civil War
The Civil War in France
Intimations of Revolution
We will end with a look at his brief sketches for a communist future, but will
emphasize his reasons against the utopian idea of a "blueprint for revolution", one
merely to be implemented irrespective of regional or historical conditions.
Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right
Critique of the Gotha Program
Demands of the German Communist Party
Interview with Karl Marx
Conspectus on Bakunin's "Statism and Anarchy"
Marginal Notes on Bakunin's "Rules"
Texts:
Mark-Engels Archive
Anarchists and Fellow Travellers
Karl Marx: Selected Poetry
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Evaluation Criteria:
This course will be evaluated in two ways:
(1) a twelve to fifteen page paper on Karl Marx.
(2) rotating explications on readings.
E-mail Dr. James Luchte
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