CLS2250

Post-Marxist critical theory

(ART)

Andrew Milner

6 points + 2 hours per week + second semester + Clayton

Synopsis: This unit will introduce students to contemporary discussion and debate about Marxist and post-Marxist critical theory. It will examine: i) Western Marxism's founding moment in the work of Lukacs and Gramsci; ii) the early work of the Frankfurt School (Adorno, Horkheimer, Benjamin) iii) the debates over New Left Marxism in the 1960s and 1970s (Althusser, Marcuse, Sartre, Williams); iv) various `post-Marxist' responses to the politics of cultural `difference' (Habermas, Eagleton, Jameson, Spivak, Zizek). Each of these will be examined for their respective accounts of the relationships between art, culture and society.

Assessment: Essay (2500 words): 50% + Examination (2 hours): 50%