History, Theory, Culture
ENG 106. Fall 2021. University of Miami
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Course: ENG 106, Sections S1 and T1
Institution: University of Miami
Course Location: *Check CaneLink*
Course Time: T/TH 4:20-5:35pm (S1), T/TH 6:00-7:15pm (T1)
Course Credit hours: 3
Instructor: Preston Taylor Stone
Email: ptstone@miami.edu
Office Hours: By appointment (Virtual)
Contrary to popular belief, socialist ideas are not new to the American political scene. Throughout American history, there have been several left-leaning political movements who found their inspiration from Karl Marx’s writings and the philosophers and political economists who came after calling themselves Marxists. The so-called ‘red scare’s of American history reveal concerted efforts by the U.S. government to both publicly and secretly stifle left-leaning political movements that would encourage class solidarity or redistribution of wealth in America. Unfortunately, what this has meant is that the majority of people in today’s United States do not have an accurate understanding of Marxism, its philosophy of history or its politics of economy. This course attempts to right this wrong. We will consider the economic, historical, and anthropological as well as sociological inspirations and outcomes in the American political system of Marxist thought. In short, the class will provide students with a deeper understanding of Marx, the Marxist view of history, philosophy, and political economy, and the internationalist and anti-imperialist politics that developed in the United States inspired by Marxist ideologies throughout the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. By reading the work of writer-activists like Emma Goldman, Claudia Jones, Huey P. Newton, George Jackson, Angela Y. Davis and many others, we will connect the theoretical terms Marx and other philosophers developed to different political movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. Finally, we will consider the contemporary moment: what kind of Marxist politics are developing in America in the 21st century? What version of left-leaning politics can exist in the U.S. after the supposed ‘fall’ of communism in the early 1990s? Where and how does Marxism reside in the U.S. today? To confront these final questions, we will engage with both fictional and documentary films in the 21st century, including Bee Movie, Spirited Away, Chicken Run, 13th, Children of Men, In Time, and others.
As the purpose of ENG 106 at the University of Miami is to prepare students to enter the academic community of the university through writing, students will be required to read, interpret, research, contextualize, and write about the works introduced in the course. Students will be introduced to primary and secondary research strategies, argumentation and contextualization, and citation styles required of all successful researchers. All of these skills will pertain to the central theme of the course, in this case Marxism.
Course Goals and Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students will exhibit the ability to
- Demonstrate effective written communication skills in relation to specific rhetorical tasks.
- Construct original, well-reasoned arguments using a range of materials
- Find, evaluate, integrate, and synthesize appropriate and relevant primary and secondary sources in their writing
- Engage in close-reading of texts
- Cite sources formally (using MLA, APA, Chicago, or other citation formats)
Required Materials
- Regular access to a computerandportable storage (flash drive, email, cloud, etc)
- Access to Netflix streaming services and YouTube
- Most texts will be provided on Google Drive and linked on the schedule section of this document. You will be expected to print and bring these to class or have full access to them during class. As far as textbooks for this class are concerned, there are two required purchases. All others will be shared via PDF.
The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality by Bhaskar Sunkara (2020 Edition)
AbeBooks
Bookshop
Amazon
Why Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton (2018 Edition)
Yale University Press
Bookshop
Amazon
Policies & Assignments
Participation
Students are required to attend class, come to class on time and prepared (having done the reading/s or assignment/s), at least attempt all classwork activities, turn in assigned work when due, participate fully in good faith in any peer work, participate in class discussion, focus on the work at hand, and conduct oneself in a manner appropriate to the college classroom.
Rubric for class participation
| 5 | Student is always attentive and contributes relevant insight very often, completing all in-class assignments in a collaborative and receptive manner |
| 4 | Student is attentive and completes all in-class assignments in a collaborative and receptive manner |
| 3 | Student is distracted but completes all in-class assignments |
| 2 | Student is often distracted and off-task, hesitant and unreceptive to collaboration |
| 1 | Student does not complete in-class assignments |
| 0 | Student is absent |
On Writing and Reading
This class will ask a lot of you in terms of writing and reading. You are likely to do more reading in a quicker time in this course than any other course you have taken before. I will, before class, ask that you respond to several informal prompts on Blackboard in the hopes you will at least attempt to do this work. Homework is a small part of your participation grade but will be immensely helpful to you in thinking about the texts we are discussing and formulating a topic for your final paper. I understand this is not your only class and I respect that you have a personal life beyond our classroom. Nonetheless, I expect you will come to class having at least attempted to do the assigned reading and writing all the way through and having prepared notes, ideas, or questions to discuss with the class.
Revision is a central and integral part of this course and any writing course of merit. In order for your writing to be consistently improving, you must bring it through multiple drafts of revision. Revision, then, is a requirement of this course. You will upload free-write, journaling, even outlines and sketches, to your Google Drive folder. Failure to do so will cast a burden of proof on your having done consistent revision in good faith for each assignment, and this will be reflected in your grades.
Attendance
Each student is allotted 4 unexcused absences (two whole weeks) and 3 tardies. Absences beyond this may result in deductions from the student’s final grade. Excessive absences will result in the student failing the course. After a student has been late (tardy) 3 times, each following time the student is late will result in 1/3 an absence. This means once a student has been late to class 6 times, they will receive an absence. Students who are consistently distracted in class (texting, browsing the internet, etc.) will be warned to pay closer attention to class. After this warning, if a student is continuously distracted in class, they will be marked absent. Students who acknowledge holy days on the same day(s) we have class will be excused if they have alerted the professor of all of these by the end of three days after you are enrolled in class. Absences do not excuse any due dates or work missed.
Electronics Policy and Google Drive vs. Blackboard
Each student is required to bring tablet, laptop, or similar electronic device to class in order to take notes, complete and submit in-class writing assignments, access readings or notes for class discussion, and participate in peer review. No electronic device should be a distraction from the activities of the classroom for any student. The use of laptops or tablets is allowed only to complete classroom-related activities. If electronic devices become a distraction or a means by which students avoid class participation, the student(s) in violation will receive an absence for class that day.
We will spend most of our class time working in Google Drive, a cloud-based file sharing system to which each student at the University of Miami has access. To log-in to your Google Drive, visit google.miami.edu and use the same credentials you use to access your email, Canelink, and Blackboard interfaces. You will have your own folder within the classroom’s folder (“ENG 106 S20”). Drive is where you will submit your drafts, revisions, in-class writing assignments, reflections, and peer reviews. The only thing you will not submit to this folder is your final draft to each assignment, which must be uploaded to Blackboard. It is up to you to make sure you have access to your Blackboard and Google Drive accounts and folders at all times. Inability to access Google Drive or Blackboard will not be sufficient excuse for not turning in assignments on time. For IT help, UMIT is located on the third floor of the Richter Library.
Academic Honor Code
As a student of the University of Miami, you have agreed to uphold the Honor Code. Violation of this code includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, collusion, or academic dishonesty. The Undergraduate Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook defines each of these violations:
Cheating – Implies the intent to deceive. It includes all actions, devices and deceptions used in the attempt to commit this act. Examples include, but are not limited to, copying answers from another student’s exam, and using a cheat sheet or crib notes in an exam.
Title II, B
Plagiarism – is representing the words or ideas of someone else as your own. Examples include, but are not limited to, failing to properly cite direct quotes and failing to give credit for someone else’s ideas.
Collusion – is the act of working together on an academic undertaking for which a student is individually responsible. Examples include, but are not limited to, sharing information in labs that are to be done individually.
Academic Dishonesty – includes any other act not specifically covered that compromises the integrity of a student or intrudes, violates, or disturbs the academic environment of the university community. Examples are attempting or agreeing to commit, or assisting in or facilitating the commission of, any scholastic dishonesty violation, failing to appear or testify without good cause when requested by the Honor Council, failing to keep information about cases confidential, supplying false information to the Honor Council and accusing a student of a violation of this Code in bad faith.
Any student who violates the Honor Code will fail not only the assignment but the entire course. Each of you has the ability to think through your own unique ideas. If you are thinking of violating the Honor Code because you are overwhelmed or in distress, speak with me and we will come up with a better solution.
On Accessibility and Acceptance
Every student, no matter their identity, ideology, or ability, is welcome and valued in this class. This class will require that we confront political, social, and ideological questions that may be deemed controversial. I encourage you not to shy away from this opportunity to think through these issues. No matter what, no student should ever feel unwelcome or unsafe in this classroom. If you find that you feel inappropriately uncomfortable, consistently unsafe, or need help, please let me know immediately and I will direct you to the resources that may help. The University of Miami Counseling Center (UMCC) provides professional support to students no matter their gender expression, sexual preferences, sex, race, financial or immigration status. You can make an appointment by calling 305-284-5511, by visiting counseling.studentaffairs.miami.edu, or by visiting the counseling center on Merrick Dr. (across from the Pavia Garage).
Students with accessibility requirements are provided for by the University of Miami’s Office of Disability Services (ODS) and may contact this office at 305-284-2374 or disabilityservices@miami.edu to make any requests for accessibility. If you have trouble contacting the ODS, let me know and I will help you. If you have contacted the ODS and have any requirements of me, please be sure to let me know as soon as possible.
Turning in assignments
Papers should be submitted on Blackboard or Google Drive on the day and at the specified time they are due. Each day a paper is late, there will be a deduction of 10% from the grade. All assignments are assigned in due time to be completed by each student on time. It is your own job to make sure you do not forget deadlines and that you turn your assignments into the correct platform (Blackboard, email, or Google Drive). Every deadline is listed on this document in the schedule section, on the assignment sheets themselves, and verbally said in class. If you require an extension(s) for your assignment(s), you must request them of the instructor at least three class periods (over a week) prior to the due date of the assignment. Under no circumstances is the instructor required to grant you an extension(s). No late blackboard posts will be accepted.
The Writing Center (www.as.miami.edu/writingcenter) can help you at any stage of the writing process. Appointments are suggested, but they also accept ‘walk-in’ visits. If I think it’s necessary, I will ask you to use the Writing Center on a regular basis. Please note that all appointments are currently being held online until further notice. To make an online appointment, make an account at the above link/sign in as usual and choose an available time.
OWL @ Purdue is a great online resource for writing and research techniques. It can be located at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html.
Extra Credit is not available or permitted in this course. I do not allow extra credit for several reasons: put simply, it is unfair to those who have committed to the work required of this class if others are able to do extra work for credit. Moreover, extra credit requires extra effort and time to which I am unable to commit for reading, annotating, grading, and categorizing within the gradebook.
On Communication
I will make a point to learn each of your names and I expect you will learn to use one another’s name in conversation, as well (“I agree with what ___ said”). This will create a welcoming and meaningful culture for our classroom. If you have a question about the policies or assignments for this class, you may speak to me before, during, or after class, via email, or in office hours. I will make a point to reply to your email within 24-to-48 hours. If you have not received a response from me after two days, you should email me again. Please do not email me to ask questions about an assignment one or two days before it is due as this will not allow due time for me to respond and for you to use this answer in writing your assignment.
Grades
If you have a question or concern about an assignment or participation grade, please come and see me during my office hours or talk with me before or after class to arrange a meeting. Due to federal requirements, UM faculty are not permitted to discuss grades via email or phone, so we will need to meet in person and in private.
Overall Grade Distribution:
| Attendance | 10% |
| Blackboard Posts/Class Participation | 15% |
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Reading Annotations | 15% |
| Annotated Bibliography | 20% |
| Research Essay | 15% |
| Lensing Assignment | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
Grading Scale:
| A | 940-1000 |
| A- | 900-939 |
| B+ | 870-899 |
| B | 830-869 |
| B- | 800-829 |
| C+ | 770-799 |
| C | 730-769 |
| C- | 700-729 |
| D+ | 670-699 |
| D | 600-669 |
| F | 0-599 |
Assignments
- Assignment Title: Blackboard Discussion Board Posts
Assignment Directions: Most days, you will have a discussion board post due on Blackboard that asks you to think through something we discussed in-class and/or a reading we have done. Sometimes, these responses will ask you to create a scholarly question for the class. A good example of a scholarly question takes a quotation from the text and then expands upon that in order to pose a new question that the text does not itself consider.
In-class or Out-of-Class: Out of class
Due Date: All posts are due before class time.
Requirements: 150-250 words ea. To earn full points on your reading responses, you will need to write thoughtful answers in full sentences and/or paragraphs and submit your post before class time.
Objective: These responses are designed to stimulate your thinking about a text and/or the course themes and help prepare you for class discussion. They are also great places to start generating ideas for your other written assignments. These posts will be graded based on completion, but thoughtful responses will enrich our class discussions and help you develop confidence in your ideas, critical reading skills, and writing.
- Assignment Title: Through-line Thursdays (TLT)
Assignment Directions: On most Thursdays, we will have ‘Through-line Thursday’ where you and a partner will connect a minimum of two and a maximum of four sources, one of which must include the reading for that Thursday. The other sources could be something we have previously discussed in this course or something you read, saw, heard outside of class.
In-Class or Out-of-Class: In-class
Due Date: Most Thursdays
Requirements: 250-350 words ea.These assignments are written in groups and while quotations will be helpful to make your connections between sources, this must be original work so most of the writing should be that of yourself and your group member(s).
Objective: The point of this assignment is to practice making connections between different texts, a skill you will be required to showcase courses beyond this one. Whereas the Blackboard reading responses test comprehension (that you understand what we read/talked about), these in-class writing responses will test argumentation (that you have thoughts about what you’ve read).
- Assignment Title: Quizzes
Assignment Directions: Throughout the semester, we may have brief quizzes on common grammatical mistakes, citation formatting, and comprehension of reading assignments. All of these will be reviewed ahead of time and all will be open-notes, so you should not stress about these. However, because you will only be allotted a certain amount of time to complete these quizzes, you should still familiarize yourself with the material before the day of the quiz. To access terminology for the course go to this Quizlet deck: https://quizlet.com/_981jz7?x=1jqt&i=3edmtt.
In-Class or Out-of-Class: In-class
Due Date: All will be announced ahead of time (and on Syllabus)
Requirements: Answer questions in under 30 minutes.
Objective: The point of this assignment is to help students classify different types of citation styles quickly and to test comprehension of theoretical knowledge from readings. Quizzing is a tool that trains students to access knowledge quickly, ‘on-the-fly’, which is an important skill in academic settings and will prepare students for interrogating complex academic writing.
- Assignment Title: Reading Annotations
Assignment Directions: This project asks each student to annotate readings and post questions about the readings. This is an on-going assignment throughout the first half of the semester—you have until October 1 to complete 1000 words of annotations and log them onto your annotation sheet that you turn in. The instructor will explain how to do this logging; however, the annotation that you do should be fairly simple. For each reading, the link will take you to a PDF in Google Drive. Highlighting certain words and phrases will result in a comment button appearing next to where you have highlighted words. You can annotate by clicking on this “Add Comment” button.
In-Class or Out-of-Class: Out of class
Due Date: October 1st
Requirements: 1000 words in total (all annotations combined)
Objective: The purpose of this assignment is to practice annotating scholarly readings, especially those with complex topics that introduce controversial cultural issues and questions. Annotating allows us to deal with our initial reactions to the text and pose questions to what we are reading. In general, annotations should be bridging the content to our thoughts in the same way Blackboard posts allow us to flesh through our thoughts more thoroughly.
- Assignment Title: Annotated Bibliography
Assignment Directions: This assignment will act as Part 1 of your research project. After selecting a topic for your project, you will conduct research and provide an overview of the existing body of research on the topic—trace the different schools of thought or approaches to the topic, summarize what other scholars have said, and examine how they agree, disagree, and relate to each other. This is, in short, a report on all of the relevant, recent scholarship about a given topic (or as much as you can find). Think of this as if you are stepping into the ongoing scholarly conversation about your topic and your goal is to outline each of the strands of that conversation.
In-Class or Out-of-Class: Out of class (peer review in-class)
Due Date: November 3rd before 3pm
Requirements: Minimum of 10 peer-reviewed sources; 1500 words
Objective: This performance of research and abridging arguments of other scholars is an important part of recognizing there is an ongoing interest in the topic you are researching and it will be very important to do as you continue in your academic career. The annotated bibliography will help you situate your own argument (that of your research paper) within the existing scholarly research. Aspects of this will become crucial during your research paper since you will need to reference sources in this list in your paper. Therefore, as you are researching, you would be wise to think about what others are not saying so that you can provide the missing link.
- Assignment Title: Research paper (potential multimodal presentation)
Assignment Directions: You will produce a research paper in a scholarly format on a topic of your interest that relates to our focus of study: Marxism in America. I encourage you to think about topics addressed by your area of study. This is not a report or summary of different sources (which is called a literature review). Though you will use your annotated bibliography to situate your own argument, the majority of your paper should be dedicated to developing your own argument and situating your own contribution to (or criticism of) the arguments of others. Your argument does not necessarily need to be complex or challenge the very definition of established theoretical knowledge. However, you ought to consider what seems to you to be left out of a lot of the sources you encounter and then make an argument for fixing this lapse.
In-class or Out-of-class: Out of class (one-page paper and peer review in-class)
Due Date: November 29th before midnight
Requirements: Your essay must use research from scholarly sources (minimum of 7 peer-reviewed sources), put forward a clear and convincing position on your topic, and follow a single citation style, format, and set of conventions (MLA, Chicago, or APA). Your essay should be 1500 words minimum.
Objective: The purpose of this assignment is not only to show again your ability to condense complex scholarly knowledge into your own words, but also to show that you can use this knowledge to make an argument of your own. Argumentation is one of the major abilities of all strong academics. In addition, strong academic writers are able to condense information efficiently and in order to contribute to a larger goal (an argument).
- Assignment Title: Lensing assignment (potential multimodal presentation)
Assignment Directions: This assignment asks you to use a theoretical or conceptual text as a framework to read a primary text, such as a creative or fictional work. One way to approach this is to imagine yourself as the author of the theoretical text and respond to the second text from their perspective. Therefore, the goal of this assignment is to use the concepts and ideas of the theoretical text as a “lens” to evaluate and interpret the cultural text.
In-class or out-of-class: Out of class (one-page paper and peer review in-class)
Due Date: December 17th before midnight
Requirements: Your paper may be given in multimodal form (with graphics, animations, etc.) or in a traditional written format. Your essay should be 1250 words minimum.
Objective: All ENG 106 students are required to do this assignment for the very reason that it requires complex thinking to explain a theoretical concept or set of theoretical concepts and then apply these to a given context. It is called a lens assignment because you are using the theoretical concepts as a lens to understand or critique an object of study.
Schedule*
Week 1
T 8/24 PPT for reviewing Syllabus, Drive, Topic
Scholarly Questions
(If time permits) “What is an argument?” assignment
Homework: Read through syllabus to prepare for open-notes quiz, discussion board post on “Propaganda of History” from W.E.B. DuBois’s Black Reconstruction in America; Watch Chicken Run on Hulu or Spirited Away on HBO Max
R 8/26 Quiz #1 on the Syllabus
Discuss Reading Annotations assignment
DuBois on History
Karl Marx and the Commodity
Homework: Watch “The Ultimate Guide to the Presidents: Reconstruction and the Gilded Age (1865 -1901) | History” on YouTube; Read from Kathleen Sears, Socialism 101 p. 1-32; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Listen to “Capitalism: What Makes Us Free?” from Throughline podcast
- Immanuel Wallerstein, Historical Capitalism Ch. 1
Week 2
T 8/31 Discuss close-reading
Basics of Socialism, Marxism
Ch. 1 of The Gilded Age from PBS and “Gilded Age Politics” from CrashCourse
Homework: Read from Kathleen Sears, Socialism 101 p. 33-47 & listen to RevLeft Radio ep. From Oct 11 2020 or ep. from Sep 22 2017; discussion board post
**Wed, 9/1 Last Day to Register for a Course**
R 9/2 Christian Socialism, Liberation Theology, and Associationism
Review citation styles: MLA, APA, Chicago
Homework: Read from Bhaskar Sunkara, The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality, Ch. 2: “Gravediggers”; listen to RevLeft Radio ep. From Oct 1 2020; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Immanuel Wallerstein, Historical Capitalism Ch. 2
- Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Dec 8 2018
- Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Feb 3 2019
Week 3
T 9/7 Marx and Engels: Historical Materialism, Dialectics
Homework: Read from Michael Harrington, Socialism: Past and Future, Ch. 2: “Socialisms”; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
**Wed, 9/8 Last Day to Drop a Course without a ‘W’**
R 9/9 Grammar I
Socialisms
Homework: Read from Tony Michels, Jewish Radicals: A Documentary History p. 41-69, 93-94, 97-98, 104-108; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Tony Michels, A Fire in Their Hearts: Yiddish Socialists in New York (Introduction)
- Paul Buhle, Marxism in the United States: A History of the American Left p. 46-57
- History and Periodicals of the United States on Marxists.org
Week 4
T 9/14 Jewish Radicalism & the Socialist Party
Homework: Read from Bhaskar Sunkara, The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality, Ch. 3: “The Future We Lost”; discussion board post
R 9/16 Quiz #2
Continental Socialism After Marx
Homework: Read from Bhaskar Sunkara, The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality, Ch. 7: “Socialism and America”; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Mar 19 2020
Week 5
T 9/21 The Short Long History of Socialism in America
Homework: Read from Robin D.G. Kelley, Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression, Ch. 4; “In the Heart of the Trouble: Race, Sex, and the ILD” and “The Black Bolsheviks” in Socialist Worker; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Sep 10 2019
R 9/23 Black Bolshevism
Homework: Read from Robin D.G. Kelley, Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression, Ch. 5: “Negroes Ain’ Black-But Red!: Black Communists and the Culture of Opposition”; discussion board post // Reminder: Reading Annotations log due before 11:59pm on 10/1
Week 6
T 9/28 Grammar II
Black Communism in the South, cont’d
Review Annotated Bibliography assignment
Homework: Read Read from Angela Davis, Women, Race & Class ch. 10 and Claudia Jones, “An end to the neglect of the problems of the Negro woman!” & “We Seek Full Equality for Women”; discussion board post
R 9/30 Close-Read Prologue of ZAMI
Communist Women
Homework: Read from Michael Harrington, Socialism: Past and Future, Ch. 3: “Authoritarian Collectivisms”; discussion board post
Week 7
T 10/5 Quiz #3
Authoritarianism
Homework: Read from Michael Harrington, Socialism: Past and Future, Ch. 4: “The Realpolitik of Utopia”; Watch The Trial of the Chicago 7 on Netflix; discussion board post
R 10/7 The New Left
Homework: Read Ch. 3 from Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Foreword by Jonathan Jackson, Jr. from Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson (p. xiii-xxv)
Week 8
T 10/12 Midterm Reflections
Black Radicalism in the 1970s-1980s: George Jackson, Angela Davis, and Assata Shakur
Homework: Read 2 letters from Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson p. 3-31 and Ch. 11 from Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Ch. 1-2 from Angela Y. Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete?
- Ch. 13, 15 from Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography
- Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Feb 8 2018
R 10/14 ** No Class – Fall Break**
Week 9
T 10/19 2 Letters by George L. Jackson
Angela Y. Davis and the Era of Mass Incarceration
Homework: Read from The Huey P. Newton Reader p. 160-179 and at least 3 sections from the following; discussion board post
- From “In Defense of Self-Defense” I: June 20, 1967 (p. 134-137)
- From “In Defense of Self-Defense” II: July 3, 1967 (p. 138-141)
- The Correct Handling of a Revolution: July 20, 1967 (p. 142-146)
- A Functional Definition of Politics, January 17, 1969 (p. 147-149)
- The Women’s Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements: August 15, 1970 (p. 157-159)
- Uniting Against a Common Enemy: October 23, 1971 (p. 234-240)
- On Pan-Africanism or Communism: December 1, 1972 (p. 248-255)
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Introduction to The Huey P. Newton Reader by David Hilliard
- “On the Peace Movement: August 15, 1969” from The Huey P. Newton Reader (p. 150-153)
- “Black Capitalism Re-analyzed I: June 5, 1971” from The Huey P. Newton Reader (p. 227-233)
- Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Feb 24 2019
- Listen to RevLeftRadio ep. from Jan 22 2018
R 10/21 Huey P. Newton and the BPP
Homework: Read from Michael Harrington, Socialism: Past and Future, Ch. 5: “The End of Socialism?”; Discussion board post; Prepare draft of Annotated Bibliography before class for in-class workshop.
See sample annotated bibliography here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l6jV89vsCOnonOzeTOpCsca5evblQVUi/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108543512564414456597&rtpof=true&sd=true.
Week 10
T 10/26 Annotated Bibliography workshop
Homework: Read from Michael Harrington, Socialism: Past and Future, Ch. 6: “The Third Creation of the World”; Listen to “Capitalism: What Makes Us Free?” from Throughline podcast; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- “Gramsci’s relevance for the study of race and ethnicity”
- Raymond Williams, Marxism and Literature Chapter 1-4
- Antonio Gramsci, “Questions of Culture” and “Socialism and Culture”
- Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Feb 12 2020
- Listen to RevLeftRadio ep. from Sep 10 2017
R 10/28 Review Research Essay assignment
Cultural Studies and the Long 1980s
Homework: Read “Introduction: Queer of Color Critique, Historical Materialism, and Canonical Sociology” from Aberrations in Black: Toward a Queer of Color Critique by Roderick A. Ferguson; discussion board post; Annotated Bibliography due in your personal folder (Last Name, First Name) no later than Wed Nov. 3 at 3pm EST
Week 11
T 11/2 Black Queer Marxism
Homework: Read the Introduction “The Old History of Capitalism” of Histories of Racial Capitalism, edited by Destin Jenkins and Justin Leroy; Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Oct 23 2017 or RevLeft ep. from Feb 14 2018; discussion board post
Recommended/Further Reading:
- Listen to RevLeft Radio ep. from Mar 26 2018
R 11/4 Racial Capitalism
Geographies of Racial Capitalism (Short Documentary)
Homework: Read from Terry Eagleton, Why Marx Was Right Preface of Second Edition, Original Preface and Ch. 1-2; discussion board post; watch Bee Movie on Netflix
Week 12
T 11/9 Grammar III
Eagleton Preface i, ii and Ch. 1-2
Homework: Read from Terry Eagleton, Why Marx Was Right Ch. 3 and watch In Time (2011) – links below
iTunes Google Play Amazon YouTube Movies
R 11/11 Ch. 3 of Eagleton
In Time
Homework: Watch Children of Men (2006) on Peacock for free, or rent on other platform; Read from Terry Eagleton, Why Marx Was Right Ch. 4; discussion board post
Week 13
T 11/16 Ch. 4 Eagleton
Children of Men
Homework: Watch 13th on Netflix; discussion board post; Prepare draft for research essay workshop
R 11/18 Review Lensing Assignment, 13th
Research Essay Workshop
Homework: Read from Terry Eagleton, Why Marx Was Right Ch. 7-9 and watch Capital in the Twenty-First Century on Netflix; discussion board post; Research essay due Sun., 11/29 at 11:59pm
**Thanksgiving Break: 11/20–11/28**
Week 14
T 11/30 Ch. 7-9 Eagleton
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
Homework: Read from Bhaskar Sunkara, The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality, Ch. 1 “A Day in the Life of a Socialist” and watch Saving Capitalism on Netflix; discussion board post
R 12/2 Ch. 9 of Eagleton
Homework: Read from Bhaskar Sunkara, The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality, Ch. 8 “Return of the Mack” and watch Requiem for the American Dream on YouTube; discussion board post
Week 15
T 12/7 Return of the Mack
“How We Win” Group Activity
Final Reflections
Homework: Draft of Lensing Assignment due no later than Monday, May 3rd in order to receive comments from professor
**Lensing Assignment due no later than December 17 at 11:59 p.m.**
*Course schedule is fluid and may require alterations throughout the semester depending on different, unforeseen events or complications. All changes will be announced both in class and via Blackboard/email announcements in due time for students to receive and adjust their plans accordingly.
