Critical Theory: Marxist Criticism

ENGL 4700: Seminar in Critical Theory

Time: Wednesday 1:404:20 PM
Location: Osborne B211
Instructor: Steve Carter, scarter2@uccs.edu
OH: Wed. 11:15 am12:45 pm & Thrs. 34:30 pm, or by appt., in COB 1047

Course Description:

This course is a sustained yet accessible study of key thinkers, texts, and ideas
in the tradition of critical theory that emerges from, and in conversation with,
the works of Karl Marx.1 We will examine and unpack concepts that often
come to mind when we think of marxismclass, labor, commodity, ideology,
capitalbut also others that may be less familiar, such as alienation,
dialectics, periodization, utopia, reification, and species being. Students will
gain critical and theoretical tools for analyzing and interpreting diverse cultural
and social phenomena, and will write in a variety of modes and genres related
to this strand of critical theory, from more conventional practices of argument
analysis and close reading to forms such as the manifesto and the aphorism.

The semester is divided into three units. The first unit introduces central
contexts and concepts, in particular the dialectic. The second is organized
around a study of selected writings by Marx, from his earliest writings to
Capital. The third unit draws together writers from the tradition after Marx,
addressing topics of both historical interest and contemporary import, e.g.,
postcolonialism, marxist feminism, and critical literary / media studies.

English 3000 (Critical Theory: Foundations & Practice) is a hard prerequisite

for this course. That means if you have not taken 3000 yet, you cannot take
this course. Come talk to me if this is a problem.

Required Texts (in order of appearance on the syllabus):

The following texts are available at the campus bookstore:

Edmund Wilson, To the Finland Station

Karl Marx: Selected Writings, ed. David McLellan (Oxford, 2000, 2nd edition)
Theodor Adorno, Minima Moralia
Roland Barthes, Writing Degree Zero
Ellen Meiksins Wood, Empire of Capital

If you purchase the McLellan book used online, be sure to get the edition listed.

1 This syllabus borrows from a course designed and taught by Christopher Connery at
the University of California at Santa Cruz.
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There are also course texts on the course Blackboard site, and others available
elsewhere online; links are noted below. You will need to print these in order to
read them and bring them to class; I cannot stress that enough. Assume all
reading is required unless marked otherwise.

A note on purchasing the course texts. The ideal situation is that you own a
copy of every book on the syllabus, so you can take notes in them as you read,
and have them in every class meeting. If you think you will have trouble
affording the books, there are a few options available. I have put all the books
available at the UCCS library on reserve, so you can access them there; since
there is only one copy of each book, be in touch with other class members to
coordinate as needed. You might also purchase a single copy to share with a
group of friends in the course; if you do this, you still need to bring that copy to
every class meeting, so you need to plan ahead in order to sit with each other,
or make some sort of arrangement so you have access to the text during class:
we will be doing extensive close reading of select passages in this class.

There are also a few reference sources that may be useful for explaining key
terms, ideas, and thinkers: A Dictionary of Marxist Thought, Tom Bottomore, ed.
(available at the UCCS library, reference use only); Keywords, by Raymond
Williams, on reserve at the library; the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(online: http://plato.stanford.edu/); and the Encyclopedia tab at marxists.org,
a website that also contains free reliable copies of many texts in this tradition.

Finally, when moving beyond these basic sources and texts, please check with
the instructor first; there is a lot of unreliable information out there, but this is
especially the case when it comes to Marx and marxism.

Course Requirements and Expectations

Class Meetings and Attendance

Class meets once a week. Most classes will consist, first, of student-led
discussion for about an hour on the days primary texts, followed by a short
break; each of you will facilitate this first discussion portion of class once
during the semester (more details to come). Following break, there will be time
set aside each class for the submission and discussion of specific questions
related to the days reading, or broader course themes; after this, sometimes
there will be a lecture for the remainder of class, and sometimes we will have
further discussion, organized by the instructor.

In this course being prepared for class means arriving with thoughts already
formulated, generated through some form of note-taking or personal written
response to the assigned reading. The more you bring to the table each week

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passages, questions, confusions, doubts, interpretations, argumentsthe more

productive and exciting the class will be for everyone.

Attendance is required at every class meeting. You may miss two classes
before your final grade is adversely affected; each absence after the third will
result in a deduction of 1/3 of a grade point from your final grade, e.g., an A
becomes an A- with your fourth absence, then a B+ on the fifth, etc. Please
arrive to each class on time; three lates equals one absence.

In addition being present and punctual, basic courtesy within this discussion-
based class is a must. Disagreement is finewith other students or with me
but it needs to be phrased in a respectful way, with the aim of furthering our
understanding of these challenging texts and ideas.

TechnologyCell Phones, Blackboard, Laptops, Tablets, Email, Etc.

Please turn off all cell phones before entering classoff, not on standby or
silent; for exceptions, which can be made in the case of emergencies, talk to me
before class. All emergency calls and texts must be responded to outside of
class; excuse yourself and step into the hall.

I expect you to check your UCCS email once per day during the week. I will
use this to communicate important information to the class; often this will be
information you want to receive, for instance, adjustment of reading
assignments, further clarification of writing assignments, or explanations of
difficult course readings and concepts.

You may not use a laptop in class or a cell phone to read this material; neither
is allowed in class.

Finally, please note that the material posted on the course Blackboard page is
intended for your personal, education use in this course and should not be
disseminated to others.

Course ReadingSuggestions and Strategies

A good deal of the course reading will be difficult, both in its content and its
style. Even if the assigned reading appears short in terms of page number,
make sure to set aside adequate time to complete it. This will probably involve
more time than you think at first, though it will get easier as the semester goes
on. If it takes about an hour to read ten pages in, say, Marx or Marcuse, thats
about right, though again it may take longer at first. Plan to read whatever is
assigned twice; once will not cut it for the level of discussion we want in class.

The reading will also contain unfamiliar terms, names, and vocabulary; as you
encounter these, look them upthis is part of completing the reading for each

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classbut try to remain focused on the main argumentative thread in each

text without getting too distracted by allusions, references, and examples. As a
general rule of thumb, use of an online reference source that helps you dig into
the text is fine; any use that allows you to avoid engaging with the course
readingsay, reading a summary online rather than the assigned reading
itselfis not. See the notes on suggested reference resources above.

You will have to take notes on the course texts in order to understand them;
how you do so is up to you, but doing so is a must. As you read, make use of
titles and subtitles to orient yourself in the text, and write notes in the margins
after reading each paragraph and section, summarizing the main point and
posing questions and confusions that we can come back to in class discussion.
Be careful of shifts in tone and voice, that is, when writers are summarizing (or
mocking) another point of view rather than laying out their own arguments.

Finally, much of the reading may challenge some of your basic beliefs, or what
you consider to be common sense and obvious; this means that reading this
material will probably involve examining your own preconceptions as much as
the arguments of our authors.

Throughout the semester, we will discuss strategies for getting the most out of
the course texts. If you are having trouble keeping up, please come talk to me.

Writing Assignments and Evaluation:

This course requires the following written assignments, which can be divided
into two categories:

1) Collective Class Work (2 Assignments)

a. Blackboard Discussion Forum Posting (One original post every

other week, due Monday by 7 pm; on alternate weeks, respond to 2
posts by classmates, due Tuesday by 7 pm.)

b. Genre Study: The Manifesto (Week 9)

2) Critical Composition & Analysis Work (3 Assignments)

a. Explication Essay (Week 6)

b. Adorno Aphorism & Analysis Essay (Week 12)

c. Analytic-Synthetic Essay (Finals Week; Abstract due Week 11;

Conference Week 13)

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Due dates are on the course schedule below. Note that some of these dates fall
on off days, when you must email me your complete essay by a specified time;
you should then bring a hard copy to class the following course meeting. I do
this so that our attention in each seminar meeting remains focused on the
reading and discussion for that day.

More guidelines will follow as the assignments approach. The explication essay
is worth 20% of your grade; the Adorno aphorism essay is also worth 20%; the
analytic-synthetic essay is worth 25%; the collective assignmentsthe small
group manifesto, and your discussion forum posts and responses, assessed
holisticallyare worth a total of 25%; the remaining 10% depends on
attendance, participation, facilitation, and general comportment in class.

You must complete all written assignments to pass the class.

Late assignments will not be accepted. There will be no extra credit

assignments.

Administrative Notes

Statement on Academic Dishonesty (i.e., Plagiarism)

In this course your ideas will be taken seriously as your own. Any submission
of anothers work as your own is a serious breach of values in an intellectual
community. Compromise in academic integrity could result in failing the
course and / or expulsion from the university. If you have any questions about
academic integrity, please see the Schedule of Courses regarding the UCCS
Honor Code and Forms of Academic Dishonesty, or come talk to me.

For Students with Learning Differences

If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations
for this class, it is your responsibility to contact and register with the Disability
Services Office and provide them with documentation of your disability so they
can determine what accommodations are appropriate for your situation. To
avoid any delay in the receipt of accommodations, you should contact the
Disability Services Office as soon as possible. Please note that
accommodations are not retroactive, and that disability accommodations
cannot be provided until an accommodation letter has been given to me.
Please contact Disability Services for more information about receiving
accommodations at Main Hall room 105, 719-255-3354.

For Military Students

If you are a military student with the potential of being called to military service
and / or training during the course of the semester, please let me know no

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later than the first week of class to discuss the class attendance policy. See
the Military Students web site for more information.

Statement on SaVE (Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act)

UCCS does not tolerate any act of protected class harassment / discrimination,
sexual harassment, intimate partner violence, dating violence, sexual assault,
or stalking (on or off campus). All staff and faculty members are required to
report such behaviors and incidents; this means that I am a federally
mandated reporter, that I am always on the clock, and that I am not a
confidential source. If you disclose to me, I will support you, respect you, and
listen with empathy, but I am also required to report any disclosure to the
Dean of Students or the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH). For
further information, please contact the Office of Discrimination and
Harassment in the Academic Office Building, room 528, 719-255-4324.

Course Schedule (subject to change):

*BB=Blackboard (Plan to print before you read and always have a copy in class)

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UNIT 1: FOUNDATIONSDIALECTIC, HISTORY, UTOPIA

Week 1: Course Introduction

Syllabus, Course Expectations, Introduction

Week 2: Early Dialectical Thought, Vicos History, and the French Revolution

Andrew Cole, from The Birth of Theory: 2442 (The Medieval Dialectic), 156157
(Phenomenological Style) [Handout, and BB]

Isaiah Berlin, from Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas: 16 (The
Counter-Enlightenment), 93119 (The Divorce between the Sciences & the
Humanities; Vicos Concept of Knowledge) [Handout, and BB]

Wilson, from To the Finland Station: 341 (chapters I.1I.5) & 83101 (II.1II.2)

Week 3: History & its NegationHegels Dialectic and Utopian Socialism

Herbert Marcuse, from Reason and Revolution: Hegel and the Rise of Social
Theory: Preface, Introduction: Socio-Historical Setting & Philosophical Setting,
Positive and Negative Philosophy, From Philosophy to Social Theory, Negation
of Philosophy [Handout, and BB]; Optional: The Phenomenology of Mind [BB]

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David McLellan, from Marx Before Marxism: 123 (Germany Before 1848)
[Handout, and BB]

Wilson, from To the Finland Station: 102141 (chapters II.3II.5)

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UNIT 2: READING MARX

Week 4: Marx Out Of Hegel

McLellan, Karl Marx: 914 (Letter to his Father), 2628 (Law on Thefts of Wood;
see also p. 22: Introductory comments to Articles chapter), 3242 (Critique of
Hegels Philosophy of Right), 7182 (Towards a Critique of Hegels Philosophy of
Right)

Week 5: Critique & Criticism

McLellan, Karl Marx: 4345 (A Correspondence of 1843), 4664 (On the Jewish
Question), 171174 (Theses on Feuerbach)

Week 6: Labor, Alienation & Species Being

McLellan, Karl Marx: 83104 & 118121 (Economic & Philosophical

Manuscripts), 124133 (On James Mill), 230233 (On Strikes), 400423
(Grundrisse selections: Alienated Labor; Machinery, Automation, Free Time,
and Communism; see also p. 379: Section Intro), 554556 (Alienated Labor)

Due Sun., October 2, 5 pm via Email: Explication Essay (HC Next Class)

Week 7: History & Politics, Ideology & Genre

McLellan, Karl Marx: 175208 (German Ideology), 245262 & 270272

(Communist Manifesto; see also 239243: Section Intro), 329355 (18th Brumaire
of Louis Bonaparte), 424428 (Preface to A Critique of Political Economy)

Week 8: Commodities, Capital & Value

McLellan, Karl Marx: 452512 (Capital selections). Stop at The Working Day.
As needed, focus on 452482.

Week 9: Accumulation, Crisis & Beyond

McLellan, Karl Marx: 512546 (Capital selections), 610616 (Critique of the

Gotha Program)

Due in Class: Small Group Manifesto (To be Read Aloud!and Handed In)

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UNIT 3: READINGS IN MARXISM

Week 10: Everyday Life in Consumer Capitalism

Adorno, from Minima Moralia: Start with Dedication & 153; then: 111, 1323,
25, 2831, 36, 42, 4446, 48, 50, 51, 64, 6668, 7072, 81, 8385, 88, 9091,
96100, 126, 129131, 134, 146, 149, 152.

NoteNumbers refer to aphorisms, or sections, not pages. The assigned

reading is roughly 90 pages. Feel free to read more if you like.

Week 11: Literature, Language, Media

Barthes, from Writing Degree Zero: Introduction, What is Writing?, Political

Modes of Writing, Part II (all chapters in this second part)

Situationist International, All the Kings Men [BB; reading can also be found
here: http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/8.kingsmen.htm]

McKenzie Wark, from Gamer Theory: Agony & Allegory [BB; reading can also
be found here: http://www.futureofthebook.org/gamertheory2.0/]

Alexander Galloway, from Protocol: Introduction & Chapter 2: Form [BB]

Due in Class: Abstract for Analytic-Synthetic Essay; Sign Up for Conferences.

Week 12: Empire & Postcolonialism

Wood, Empire of Capital: 188 (Introduction & Chapters 14)

V. I. Lenin, Draft Theses on National and Colonial Questions [BB]

Mao Tse-tung, excerpt from Report on an Investigation of the Peasant

Movement in Hunan [111; BB]

C. L. R. James, from The Black Jacobins: Prefaces (2), Prologue, The Property,
The Owners [BB]

W. E. B. Du Bois, Application for Membership in the Communist Party [BB]

Samir Amin, from Eurocentrism: Preface & Introduction [BB]

Due Sun., Nov. 13, 5 pm via Email: Adorno Aphorism Essay (HC Next Class)

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Week 13: Marxist Feminism

This Week: Instructor Conferences on Final Essays.

Mariarosa Dalla Costa & Selma James, The Power of Women and the
Subversion of the Community [BB]

Gayle Rubin, The Traffic in Women (from Literary Theory: An Anthology, ed.
Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan) [BB]

Maria Mies, from Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale: Social Origins
of the Sexual Division of Labor [BB]

Nancy Fraser, Feminism, Capitalism, and the Cunning of History [BB]

Silvia Federici, from Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body, and Primitive
Accumulation: The Great Witch-Hunt in Europe [BB]

Week 14: Respite

No Class: Thanksgiving

Week 15: The Ends of CapitalTime, History, Utopia, Crisis

Walter Benjamin, Theses on the Philosophy of History & selection from The
Arcades Project: N: On the Theory of Knowledge, Theory of Progress [both BB]

Fredric Jameson, Introduction / Prospectus: To Reconsider the Relationship of

Marxism to Utopian Thought [BB]

Andre Gorz, from Farewell to the Working Class: Towards a Policy of Time [BB]

Robin Blackburn, Finance and the Fourth Dimension [BB]

Endnotes, Misery and Debt [BB; reading can also be found here:
https://endnotes.org.uk/issues/2/en/endnotes-misery-and-debt]

Week 16: Intellectuals & Education

Walter Benjamin, The Author as Producer [BB]

Antonio Gramsci, The Intellectuals & On Education [BB]

Situationist International, On the Poverty of Student Life [BB; reading can

also be found here: http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/poverty.htm]

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David Noble, from Digital Diploma Mills: Lessons from the Pre-Digital Age [BB]

Marc Bousquet, from How the University Works: The Informal Economy of the
Information University [BB]

Week 17: Finals Week

Due: Analytic-Synthetic EssayMonday, December 12, 25 PM in COB 1047

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