Marxism 101, Session 1: Beginning to Study Marxism Together

The goal of this first class of Marxism 101 is to help participants get to know one another, to understand the social and political conditions in which Marx lived and worked, and to gain a cursory understanding of key Marxist concepts.

CORE READINGS

CLASS EXERCISES

Four Corners:

Center for Political Education used this exercise as an icebreaker and to help us get a sense of some of the areas in which the participants felt confident and where they could use a boost. It also gave the participants an opportunity to get to know each other a bit and to do some self-reflection before jumping into the material.

Marxism 101 Timeline (1800-1900):

This exercise helps participants more deeply understand the context in which Marx was writing and organizing. Center for Political Education also uses this exercise as an opportunity to help participants think about the development of this work within a context of international struggle to help highlight how Marx was influenced by class struggles outside of his immediate context as well as how his work influenced those struggles. Further, we find that charting Marx’s forced migration across Europe amplifies the ways his work challenged the power structures under which he lived.

Thinking About the Communist Manifesto and Marxism in our Time:

As part of the first session of its Marxism 101 class,  the Center for Political Education offered some thoughts on Marx and Engels’ Communist Manifesto,

Keywords:

A short list of key terms stemming from this class’ core readings.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

Along with studying the core materials, we encourage people interested in a deeper dive, to check out the following resources related to the core materials and following themes discussed in this session of Marxism 101.