october

MARX/POSTMARX/MARX — FROM CULTURE TO CLASS (sort of…)

10.4: pierre bourdieu

pierre bourdieu, selections from distinction: a social critique of taste [[this is a bit of a slog, but there’s a lot here (some of it is even interesting!). don’t let it overwhelm you]]

something to help with the main concepts: david swartz, “the sociology of habit

[[[this is what i assigned last year as a primer, but in practice it turned out to be at least as complicated and obscure as bourdieu’s own work. thus, it is now relegated to this parenthetical aside, allowing you to ignore completely, but still remaining here in case you ever have the desire to read it: craig calhoun, “habitus, field, and capital: historical specificity in the theory of practice” [[this is a friendly introduction to the ideas of bourdieu. it is here to help, and is worth skimming to get the main concepts (the ones in the title)]]]]]

10.6 more bourdieu

more selections from distinction

sewell, “a theory of structure: duality, agency, and transformation

this is a lot, and it is unlikely you will read it all. that’s okay. if time is short (if????), read the sewell piece first and most closely. the bourdieu selections should be looked at, but can be skimmed (to the extent that he’s skimmable). i just think it’s important that we have a discussion about what “structure” actually means, since it seems so important to everything and anything.

10.11 a bit more bourdieu

bourdieu, “social space and the genesis of groups

the reading below is OPTIONAL! (it’s good, but i know that you are busy, so…)

bourdieu and wacquant, excerpts from an invitation to reflexive sociology

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT ASSIGNMENT 1: YOU CAN/SHOULD STILL FINISH BY 10/10, 10:10, BUT INSTEAD OF EMAILING IT TO ME, JUST BRING A HARD COPY TO CLASS ON TUESDAY. THANKS.

10.13 gibson-graham

j.k. gibson-graham, selections from the end of capitalism as we know it

okay, this is not so short, but it’s shorter than before, and it is much easier to read (even if the ideas remain complex). we also turn to a very marxist question, which is what is the nature of capitalism? how do the ways that we define/understand/imagine the capitalist system (structure?) affect the way we resist and reproduce it?

(also note, while we are talking about the power of naming, that this work is actually written together by 2 women who write under a single name…)

10.20: hardt & negri

m. hardt and a. negri, selections from empire

the start

the finish

10. 25 erik olin wright

wright is a sociologist who is currently working on a project entitled “real utopias,” which is an effort to use marxism to understand/respond to social problems, and to do it outside of the realm of “revolutionary praxis” (not to mention obscure language). in an effort to linger over some of the conclusions of hardt/negri (as well as revisit what the key assumptions of a marxist sociology might look like), here are the readings for tuesday…

1) “foundations of a neo-marxist class analysis” (fairly short (22 pp, plus some references and diagrams) — this is sort of reviewish, but also encapsulates some of the bigger points in a more straightforward manner, along with adding some of his own points)). the goal for us as we start to bid post-marxism adieu is to grapple with how/why class matters. this chapter helps.

2) “basic income as a socialist project” (even shorter at 10 pp!) — this builds on the “social wage” demand we discussed briefly last week, so it gives us more time to reflect on its political, but more importantly for us, also its sociological implications. (you don’t need to read this, but this past week there was an article in the ny times proposing a basic income for children, which you might find of interest)

3) “what is class consciousness?” (read only pp. 242-250, not the entire chapter) — gets at some of the questions of how consciousness works (or doesn’t…) under capitalism. mostly overview, but still helps to solidify ideas that have floated about in post-modern jargon for the past couple of weeks…

so, that’s 3 things, but only 40pp of reading, and it’s written much more like a “normal” sociologist (which doesn’t mean that it’s a super page turner, but your standards have been successfully lowered at this point…)

also, if you find yourself ever interested in immersing yourself in the marxist universe, you could do worse than taking a look at wright’s graduate seminar syllabus on “class, state, and ideology.” even if you’re not interested, you might want to click the link just to see what a 91 page syllabus (!!!!!!!!!) looks like….

[[[ in case you want to see arguments for a universal basic income from the conservative/non-marxist perspective, here are some samples…”the conservative case for a guaranteed basic income” and an interview with charles murray]]]

10.27: special guest star: jamie “does he still even work here?” mccallum

laura kipnis, “against love

kathi weeks, “marxism, productivism, and the refusal of work”

(yes, there is a lot to read. don’t blame me!)

___________

[[[the stuff below is what you are missing b/c of our guest, but since i know you are super committed students, you might like to have it captured here for posterity, so you can read it over the weekend (!!@@)

david harvey

let’s talk about mystification and ideology! (of course, harvey talks about a lot more in his larger body of work, but that’s our focus for today)

harvey, a brief history of neoliberalism [[this is the entire book! don’t read it all! instead, read the first 2 chapters (pp.5-63). this is still a non-trivial amount of reading, but, in continuing the theme for this week, the prose is fairly straightforward and readable…] (some people are having trouble with the link, so here’s a pdf of the first two chapters.)

i have been talking too much (i’m sure you agree!), so for this class, i’m going to throw the ball in your court — come with questions/observations/critiques, not just of harvey, but of the general marx/class topics we’ve spent discussing these recent weeks.

too much time on your hands? if not, then go no further… if so, then you might want to take a look at harvey’s more recent book seventeen contradictions and the end of capitalism [this is another link to the entire book. for the topic of the day, i suggest taking a quick look at chapter 14 on “freedom and domination.” or, you know, ignore the entire thing, since it is merely suggested…]

 

 

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