Cost and Registration Information

Early Registration Price (January 9 at 10 am – January 26 at 4 pm): $100
Regular Registration Price (January 26 at 4 pm – first day of class): $110

Members, seniors, and students get a 10% discount.

This seminar is full. Please call (312) 255-3700 if you would like to be added to the wait list.

Excuse our dust!

Beginning January 2018 the Newberry will be undertaking renovation of much of the first floor. The Adult Education Seminars Program will still have use of the basement classrooms, but please check this link frequently for the latest conditions - which exterior doors are open or closed, where to find an accessible entrance, which restrooms are available, etc.

Because of the renovation, the Newberry Bookstore will be closed during the Winter/Spring and Summer 2018 terms. As such, seminar participants will be responsible for acquiring all required texts for their seminars on their own. We apologize sincerely for the inconvenience, and appreciate your understanding. We have put together a list of helpful resources that should make it easy to find the books you need.

Seminar Description

A specter is haunting America—the specter of Marx. In the wake of the 2008 economic meltdown, Occupy Wall St., and a presidential bid by a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, Karl Marx seems primed for a comeback. This seminar will provide an accessible introduction to Marxist thought, exploding many Marx myths along the way. Questions include: What’s the difference between Marxism and socialism? And how has Marxism influenced other movements, like civil rights and feminism? Please bring lunch as class continues during the lunch hour. One session.

Harrison Sherrod has been teaching seminars at the Newberry for several years, including courses on Chicago surrealism, metaphysical detectives, the philosophy of anxiety, con artists, and dinner parties gone wrong.

Materials List

Required:

• Peter Osborne, How to Read Marx. W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (April 17, 2006). ISBN#: 978-0393328783
• Terry Eagleton, Why Marx Was Right. Yale University Press (April 24, 2012). ISBN#: 978-0300181531

First Reading:

• For the first class, please read the entirety of both How to Read Marx and Why Marx Was Right.
• The instructor will send out very brief supplemental excerpts from other texts via email. These are considered optional.

This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.