Marxism, Anarchism, and Anti-Colonialism Syllabus

The George Floyd Rebellion of Summer 2020 transformed the terrain of contemporary social struggle. In Fall 2020 I taught an intro class on “Marxism, Anarchism, and Anti-Colonialism” as an attempt to provide a theoretical and historical grounding for students involved in the movement. Here is the syllabus, with links/PDFs for all readings.

Course Description:

The US president tweets about “ugly anarchists” and pundits warn of a communist conspiracy to destroy America; meanwhile, abolitionists in Black Lives Matter offer a vision of a society without police, prisons, and capitalism. In a broad historical analysis of the contemporary political moment, this course asks: what do Marxists and anarchists really believe? This writing seminar will explore the theory and practice of Marxism and anarchism with particular focus on race, imperialism, and anti-colonialism. Students will write a persuasive political essay, a film analysis, papers exploring anti-capitalist theory, and historical reflections on national liberation movements. Readings will include Marx, Lenin, Kropotkin, Ho Chi Minh, Fanon, Mao, Mariátegui, the Combahee River Collective, Angela Davis, and more.

Note that the Marx readings all come from Robert C. Tucker’s The Marx-Engels Reader, Second Edition (1978). Here is a PDF.

Course Schedule

Week One: Introduction to Class

Unit One: Marxism

Week Two: The Communist Manifesto

  • Karl Marx, “Manifesto of the Communist Party”(1848) [p. 472-500]
  • Karl Marx, excerpt from “Marx on the History of His Opinions,” [Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy] (1859) [p. 4-5]

Week Three: Wage Labor and Alienation

  • Karl Marx, excerpt from Wage Labor and Capital (1847) [p. 203-206]
  • Karl Marx, excerpt from Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (1844) [p. 70-84]

Week Four: Marx and Colonialism

Week Five: Marxism-Leninism

Unit Two: Anarchism

Week Six: Introduction to Anarchism

Week Seven: Case Study: Mutual Aid and Coronavirus

Week Eight: Anarchism and Anti-Colonialism

Unit Three: National Liberation and Indigeneity

Week Nine: “Stretching Marxism” with Fanon

Week Ten: Marxism and Indigeneity

Week Eleven: Case Study: The Zapatistas

Unit Four: The Black Freedom Struggle

Week Twelve: Resistance, Marronage, and National Liberation

Week Thirteen: Black Power and Anti-Colonialism

Week Fourteen: Black Feminism and Abolition

Author: Empty Hands

Empty Hands History is written by Spencer Beswick, a historian of anarchism and the left who hopes to offer inspiration and lessons for today's movements.