Splash Biography

In this class, we'll look at The Communist Manifesto (1848), co-written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, to understand the meaning and legacy of social revolution. Considered one of the most important documents of our era, the Manifesto continues to influence trade unionists, politicians, artists, students, scientists and revolutionaries. It has influenced the feminist, anti-slavery, black power, anti-colonization, and gay liberation movements. Marx's critique of capitalism and modern society continue to be fundamental to our understanding of the modern of world. What is a revolution? Why do we care? How does our understanding of history help understand not only the past, but also our possibilities for the future? These important questions are rarely asked in public or in schools. People usually claim a "revolution" is impossible or that it inevitably ends in failure, and there are some bad experiences to back this up. The original idea, however, was essentially about making progress through expanding human freedom. As long as freedom continues to be a political concern, The Communist Manifesto will remain an important reference to everyone concerned with the struggle for freedom. We'll explore these topics and more through short lectures, discussions, readings, and group activities. Copies of the text will be made available, and it can be found online (http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/). This class will be valuable to anyone interested in philosophy, history, politics or literature.