Reading Capital: Political Economy in the Age of Modern Industry

Catalog description

Since its first publication in German in 1867, and its appearance in English in 1886, Karl Marx's Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Volume I, has occupied a seminal position in European thought. Beginning with the presumptions of classical liberal political economy, Marx employed his technique of the materialist dialectic to unmask, in his view, the contradictions and structural limitations that the capitalist mode of production imposed upon capitalists and proletarians alike. Much mentioned, but seldom read, Volume I of Capital remains a crucial window into understanding the intellectual, economic, social, and cultural currents of the 19th century, and its impact extends into the 21st . This course consists of a close, directed reading of the entire text of this volume, combined with discussion, research, and coordinated exploration, so that students can bring this powerful critique to bear on their reading of history and economics in the modern era. Offered as HSTY 333 and HSTY 433 . Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course.