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To inaugurate a year of events, the Crisis in the Cultures of Capitalism research cluster is holding a panel which follows two interrelated threads. The first is the analysis of capitalism as a system, from its origins to its contemporary transformations. This analysis extends across disciplines and theoretical orientations, and one goal of this interdisciplinary panel is to represent the wide range of approaches that UCSC faculty are taking in their research into capitalism. The second thread is the reexamination of Marxist theory. Throughout its history Marxism has extended into a range of fields, from sociology to literary criticism, and has remained a crucial reference point for theory which seeks to understand social life historically. This panel will extend the historical analysis to Marxism itself, critically reexamining its evolution and its engagement with its changing social and political context.

Panelists include:

• Miriam Greenberg, Associate Professor of Sociology: “Crisis-Driven Urbanization and Contemporary Capitalism”
• Jonathan Beecher, Professor Emeritus of History: “David Riazanov and the Marx-Engels Institute”
• Tyrus Miller, Professor of Literature, Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies: “Theaters of History: Drama, Action, and Historical Agency in the Work of György Lukács
• Neda Atanasoski, Associate Professor of Feminist Studies: “Revolutions and Networks: Technology and the Social Body after Socialism”
• Moderated by Gopal Balakrishnan, Associate Professor of History of Consciousness

Upcoming event series: “The Origins of Civil Society”

The development of the discipline of political economy, including its dialogue with modern political philosophy, is closely intertwined with the rise and expansion of capitalist society. As we turn our attention today to capitalism’s crisis tendencies and the future of market society, a critical examination of this foundational history becomes the starting point of the analysis of the present. This lecture series addresses the origins of civil society from several vantage points: the legal and political forms that underlie market relations; the transformation of the labor process; the role of gender and reproductive labor; and the history of separation from the means of subsistence.

Jan 16, 2014 – Warren Montag: “The Revocation of the Right to Subsistence: On the Legal and Political Origins of the Market”

Feb 6, 2014 – Kathi Weeks: “The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics and Postwork Imaginaries”

Mar 6, 2014 – Michael Perelman: “Primitive Accumulation: From Adam Smith to Angela Merkel”

Presented by the Crisis in the Cultures of Capitalism Research Cluster. Staff support provided by the Institute for Humanities Research. For more information, including disabled access, please contact Evin Guy: (831) 459-5655, ecguy@ucsc.edu. Maps: http://maps.ucsc.edu.

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