Programs strong in Marxist study?

[Mason.Jennings]

Hey just wondering if anyone  knew of any departments that have a strong or any Marxist presence, especially in the Northeast US. Primarily interested in Marxist political theory, but if anyone knows departments in history/sociology/cultural studies etc that are applicable let me know, thanks!

[guest56436]

Not very popular in mainstream US political science.

[Mason.Jennings]

sad

[rising_star]

I think Marxist theory/thought is more common in anthropology, cultural/interdisciplinary studies, and geography than it is in either sociology or political science.

[The0ry]

He's a part of 'the canon' (Plato - Nietzsche), so every half-decent program in theory reads Marx. Other than that, there are many places that have one or more theorist(s) who are Marx scholars. Biggest names, in my opinion, in poli theory that do Marx today are: Corey Robin (CUNY Grad Center), Alexander Gourevitch (Brown), Samuel Chambers (Hopkins), and William C. Roberts (McGill). There are a bunch of Marx heavy departments in Canada (like YorkU, which is probably the best place to study Marx in North America). Of course, choosing the right program even among these depends on how you read Marx... 

If you leave poli sci departments, than you open up your possibilities of course, but I wouldn't agree at all that Marx isn't seriously studied in US political science departments. 
At Harvard - Richard Tuck
at Yale - Seyla Benhabib
at UChicago - Patchen Markell
at Berkeley - Wendy Brown
at Hopkins - Samuel Chambers
at Brown - Alexander Gourevitch
at Columbia - Jon Elster & Jean L. Cohen
etc. 

These are just some of the scholars that have been teaching grad Marx courses at top theory programs. There are more. And many programs could supervise a Marx project even if they don't officially have a Marx scholar (like Cornell, UCLA, Northwestern, etc.). 

 

Edited July 8, 2017 by The0ry

[guest56436]

The fact that the biggest names you can think of are at CUNY, JHU, and Brown kind of proves the point. Is there a single Marxist that is at a top 10 department? I'll assume the answer to that is no. The closest I can think of is Peter Evans at Berkeley but he is pretty much done and many of these types of scholars in political science are no longer part of the discipline.

No one said it isn't seriously studied or engaged with (of course it is), just that you are not going to get 'trained' in Marxist theory unless you want to go to a more obscure department - and you probably won't get a job if you do.

We have had these same discussions with postcolonial studies, feminist studies, ect. We just need to accept that they are not mainstream in the field, for better or worse. If you want this type of training you should really look at other disciplines.

Edited July 8, 2017 by Comparativist

[guest56436]

How are Tuck, Brown, and Benhabib Marx scholars?

[The0ry]

Tuck is a Marxist who taught classes in history of economic thought with an emphasis on Marx and standalone Marx classes, and Alexander Gourevitch refers to him as probably the best scholar on the topic in poli theory in US, even though his publishing has often been in other topics. 
Brown and Benhabib are critical theorists who have both taught Marx classes and are heavily influenced by him & have supervised Marx dissertations. 

Not sure what your issue is with Brown (which is now a theory powerhouse), Hopkins (which has always been), or CUNY (which is severely under-rated), but even if you put them aside other top theory programs (as I listed above) have trained Marx scholars and do have professors who directly or indirectly work on Marx. 
I don't know what the OP's application is like or what type of schools s/he is aiming at, but if it's top 10 -there is certainly people and programs where they would be more than welcome. Also, if you go below those, then there's even more choice (like New School, UMass Amherst, etc.). 

I think your statements about feminism or postcolonialism are equally wrong. Feminism especially (!!). Postcolonialism has indeed fallen a little out of fashion, but there are still top notch programs where you can do it with top people. 

This is all not to deny that other disciplines do these fields as well, some even more, but political theory departments (top ranked and lower ranked ones) in US certainly do the above mentioned fields.

[The0ry]

Also, Peter Evans is a sociologist. If you go outside of poli sci proper (as you said it yourself), bunch of top 10 schools have Marxists. 
But I believe you're quite wrong. There are a lot of Marxists in poli theory (yes, the mystical 'top 10' even). Most critical theorists are heavily influenced by Marx and have studied and used him extensively & have supervised dissertations on him/related to him. 

Also, it's funny how you say " Is there a single Marxist that is at a top 10 department?" even after I listed those names. Yes, yes there are. 

And what does it mean to be trained in "Marxist theory" - No one is expecting 5 classes in Marx to be offered during the 2 years they are taking classes. No one is expecting that in any type of theory. But if you're a prospective grad student in theory who wants to study Marx, as with any history of poli thought figure- you have to find a program where there is a scholar (or two) who you can take classes with and write a dissertation under. Someone who is interested in this thinker as you are and can help you become a true scholar on the topic. That's it. You don't need 3+ scholars in theory in the same department who do the same figure (that would be impossible for almost any thinker in his of poli thought) and who all teach classes on that figure (which would make no sense). 

Let's take an example of UChicago (a top 5 program) --> if you're a theory student there who wants to study Marx there (as people have already done) --- You can study it under Patchen Markell (who has taught 2-quarter class on Capital and is an expert on the topic & has mentored both MA & PhD students on the topic) + there are at last 1-2 other faculty members in theory there who can easily be on your committee (who use a lot of Marxist theory) + you can also take a class with Moishe Postone (history dept) who is one of the top figures in Marxism today (interdisciplinary). And btw, you can do both postcolonial and feminist theory at UChicago poli sci department (theory subfield) in a very similar way with equal success. 

That is how grad school in theory works. There is no mythical "marxist theory" program, same how there is no "Hobbes theory" program. There are top scholars who study Hobbes and you go there and study him with them in a similar way as I described for Marx above. That is just how history of poli thought works on a grad level. 

 

Edited July 8, 2017 by The0ry

[guest56436]

Let's take a step back here.

The OP originally asked is there was any departments strong in scholars who study Marx. You seem to be shifting towards something completely different and arguing that there are plenty of scholars that periodically engage with Marx.

Richard Tuck is not a Marxist. All his publications, from what is searchable, are predominantly written on natural laws and predominantly Hobbes. Benhabib has dabbled with critical theory but predominantly writes on ethics and gender. Not a Marxist. Markell writes on political economy topics, but his publications are centered on Arendt. Brown engages in critical theory, but does so from a pretty long list of thinkers. 

Once again, lots of people engage with Marx (he is a major social science scholar) but that doesn't make them Marxist writers, nor does having a person like that make a department strong in Marxism or a place where people wanting to study Marx go to be grad students. 

For example, just because Theda Skocpol engaged with Marxism and used class analysis in States and Social Revolutions does that make her a Marxist scholar? No. Does that make Harvard a place you apply to with a project centered on Marxist political thought? No.

I'm not in the business of giving prospectives bad advice. And I think acting like there are a plethora of options all over the place for someone proposing a Marxist project in their SOP is not good business. 

Bottom line...getting a job as a political theorist these days is almost impossible. It's also exponentially more difficult getting a job as a political theorist if you go to a mid-ranked department. It's even more difficult getting a job as a political theorist as a Marxist scholar from a mid-ranked department.

If you are hell bent on doing a Ph.D. in political theory, then you should find ways to connect your proposed project with other thinkers and more mainstream topics in political theory. That way you can be more attractive to the top programs. Because I strongly advice anyone that is competitive to apply to top programs. Even if you don't get in, you still need to apply there. Otherwise, I would take a strong look at other disciplines because your options and chances of getting into top programs studying Marxist thought could be significantly higher.

[luminalcoin8]

John Roemer at Yale is one of the fathers of analytical marxism, but he's getting up there (mid-70s I think)

[The0ry]

I think it's really funny just how little you actually know about political theory subfield, scholarship, and the scholars you are talking about (which is very evident from your last post), yet you are "not in the business of giving prospectives bad advice." 

You are completely wrong on several points there, but I really don't want to drag this on forever. 
I guess you just insist on being the authority on all things on this forum related to political science - even though theory is obviously not your forte - so I'll be happy to indulge you and leave this be.

Have a great day.

 

 

P.S. careful, there might be a Marxist at your department too!  (they might even have USSR flag in their office and their every publication has the word "Marx" in the title - to be more 'searchable' for non-theorists, of course)
 

[Mason.Jennings]

thanks for the info, sorry for starting a war lol

[Mason.Jennings]

@theory 

any thoughts on the new school? Had a friend who did a graduate program in something Marxist related there

Edited July 11, 2017 by Mason.Jennings

[The0ry]

@Mason.Jennings
Nancy Fraser is there, who alone makes it worth a while to study theory there in my opinion. They have historically been a critical theory program. Deva Woodly who does Theory + American is really strong up and coming young scholar, I heard her speak several times. Ross Poole teaches Marx there as well (as does Fraser, and a lot of other faculty members incorporate him into their syllabi and their work). Rafi Youatt does some interesting stuff on posthumanism. So people-wise, they are really good.
But in the interest of full disclosure, New School is also known for having terrible funding packages. So honestly, unless you have really good savings and are willing to burn through them, I wouldn't recommend going there. 
CUNY Grad Center might be a better alternative, funding wise, as they have fellowships which are decent (for NY even Columbia's funding sucks, and funding for all PhD programs sucks in general, but that's another matter). CUNY Grad Center has some amazing people, also few top Marx & critical theory people. Corey Robin is arguably the best-known young Marxist in theory, currently writing a book on the political theory of capitalism. Susan Buck-Morss, one of the most famous Frankfurt School theory scholars (together with Benhabib) is also there, from Cornell where she raised an entire generation of critical theorists. Jack Jacobs teaches Marx regularly. Also some other folks, in theory and outside, who'd be very happy to accommodate your research interests. Some other big names that might not be as close to your research interest but are there: Uday Mehta, Carol Gould, and Alyson Cole.
Btw, biggest New York city universities (plus Princeton and Rutgers in Jersey, and Stony Brook upstate) have this thing called Inter-University Doctoral Consortium, which is a great. It allows you to take classes at other schools. So going to CUNY Grad for example still doesn't preclude you from studying with Nancy Fraser. 


That being said, I do think it is important to put a big caveat in front of all this for prospective grads: tenure-track jobs are indeed disappearing and academia is a very precarious endeavor. I'm not one of those people who thinks TT jobs are the only reason you should pursue a PhD, but it is a reality that many people are. So be aware of that. However, when people tell you to "go study Marx elsewhere" and then mention disciplines like Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Comp Lit, or whatever - they aren't really solving anything because:
1) Tenure track jobs are perhaps even harder to come by in these disciplines. It is just the current state of academia, especially humanities (and humanities-like fields such as poli theory). 

2) There are broadly two ways of studying & using Marxian theory in poli theory today: history of poli thought (exegesis) or contemporary theory (critical theory of some sort that builds on Marx, but others as well). If you choose the former, then getting a placement will be equally hard as if you were studying Hobbes, or Locke, or Mill, or whomever from the cannon. Also, you will have to connect it with recent literature, other thinkers, find an innovative reading/approach to it, and show its pertinence for current issues. This is no small task. If you choose the latter, there is a bunch of critical theorists (of all stripes and colors) in the US academia (top 10 and below) which you can study with. My overall point being - studying Marx in poli theory today is perfectly fine. The problem is not with Marx as a figure, the problem is in poli theory & similar fields, that are in precarious position with this neoliberalization of higher education. 

3) This brings me to my last point here. The issue I have with people telling you not to study Marx "because you won't find a job" is that it most often serves as a tool to homogenize the discipline (or/and they simply don't know much about theory scholarship and scholars, as is the case in this thread, in my opinion). Not everyone wants to do liberal normative political theory that is 'the mainstream' (btw, there are people who approach Marxi and Marxist theory in a normative poli theory tradition as well, which only shows the wealth of approaches to Marx today). People have different aspirations and interests. And once you show people who say that that there are a lot of people working on these 'Other' topics as well, they quickly revert to: "well you won't find a job in theory anyway". So just be mindful that the entire discussion above about Marx (in this case) in political theory today is not really the problem of Marx per say, as you can study him with a lot of scholars in all sort of "top 10" or below programs, but with political theory itself (& academia overall today). 
If you're ok with that, and accept the risks, rock on buddy - join the struggle



 

 

Edited July 11, 2017 by The0ry

[Mason.Jennings]

Very helpful thank you

[Mason.Jennings]

What's the best way to get in contact with professors in the areas I'm interested in? Just email them directly?

[dih2]

Out of curiosity, what kind of Marxist is Tuck?

[The0ry]

@dih2
I unfortunately don't know him personally, and I haven't taken his classes (undergrad or grad) to know how he approaches Marx. I know few people who studied under him and think very highly of him. Besides what he is most famous for, he does history of poli-econ thought, critique of neoclassical econ from the history of poli thought perspective, etc. He also does intro 'Social Studies 10' class which is supposedly very 'Marx-heavy' when he teaches it. 
Fun fact, he was very involved in the debate on how the Left should proceed in Britain (he is British) with regards to Brexit referendum https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/left-case-brexit

As I said above, Alex Gourevitch, who studied under him, refereed to him as a top figure in US to study Marxian poli econ thought within the field of political theory. Which means quite a lot in my opinion, coming from him. 
 

 

Edited July 12, 2017 by The0ry

[puddle]

The only Marxist theorist I know is at Tufts and in literature.

[TY09]

I recognize that I'm 3 years late to this thread, but would like to add a few comments to this already informative series of posts for those who are currently looking into programs.  

First, if you're interested in study Marxism, you should think about what specific theoretical questions and topics interests you in Marxism.  For instance, are you interested in understanding Marx's critique of political economy?  Marxian theory of value?  History of Marxist thought?  Theories of transition to communism?  Historical materialist accounts of the transition to capitalism?  Marxist critiques of philosophy/theory?  Marxist theories of the state?  Marxism is broad, and the professors mentioned in these posts have different research agendas and approaches.  Finding the right professor who has the expertise to guide you in your specific area of interest is critical.

Second, Marxism presents an international and interdisciplinary cohort of researchers and thinkers, much Marxist scholarship is published in languages other than English, and many of the leading contemporary Marxist intellectuals are multi-lingual (e.g., see New Left Review).  Many Marxist works have been written in German, Russian, Italian, French, Spanish and Chinese, to name just some.  Marxism is also much more accepted outside of the US, and some of the best research and writing comes from universities outside of the US.  You may want to consider programs outside of the U.S. where opportunities to learn other languages are more available and highly encouraged.  In addition to Canada (I saw that York U was already mentioned) and the UK, consider universities in continental Europe.

Third, a few other departments, like sociology and anthropology, have been mentioned.  You might want to take a look at sociology departments, such as Berkeley (Dylan Riley) and NYU (Vivek Chibber), and interdisciplinary programs, such as UC Santa Cruz's History of Consciousness (Bargu, Meister and Tomba).  Some Marxists are in departments that you wouldn't normally think of, like David Harvey in Geography at CUNY (although he's probably retiring soon).

Finally, take a look at the Historical Materialism series published by Brill (hardcover) and Haymarket Books (paperback).  This series, along with Verso, will not only give you an idea of potential publishing venues, but also of some of the strongest work by less well-known Marxists, such as Peter Thomas's The Gramscian Moment, Tony Smith's Globalisation, and Patrick Murray's The Mismeasure of Wealth.

[PolPhil]

On 7/7/2017 at 10:15 PM, The0ry said:

He's a part of 'the canon' (Plato - Nietzsche), so every half-decent program in theory reads Marx. Other than that, there are many places that have one or more theorist(s) who are Marx scholars. Biggest names, in my opinion, in poli theory that do Marx today are: Corey Robin (CUNY Grad Center), Alexander Gourevitch (Brown), Samuel Chambers (Hopkins), and William C. Roberts (McGill). There are a bunch of Marx heavy departments in Canada (like YorkU, which is probably the best place to study Marx in North America). Of course, choosing the right program even among these depends on how you read Marx... 

If you leave poli sci departments, than you open up your possibilities of course, but I wouldn't agree at all that Marx isn't seriously studied in US political science departments. 
At Harvard - Richard Tuck
at Yale - Seyla Benhabib
at UChicago - Patchen Markell
at Berkeley - Wendy Brown
at Hopkins - Samuel Chambers
at Brown - Alexander Gourevitch
at Columbia - Jon Elster & Jean L. Cohen
etc. 

These are just some of the scholars that have been teaching grad Marx courses at top theory programs. There are more. And many programs could supervise a Marx project even if they don't officially have a Marx scholar (like Cornell, UCLA, Northwestern, etc.). 

 

Patchen Markell hasn't taught at UChicago for a while

[Theory007]

On 7/19/2020 at 5:38 AM, PolPhil said:

Patchen Markell hasn't taught at UChicago for a while

I wonder why he left UChicago. Cornell U is of course not bad, but it must take something extraordinary to leave the core faculty at UChicago 

[PolPhil]

2 hours ago, Theory007 said:

I wonder why he left UChicago. Cornell U is of course not bad, but it must take something extraordinary to leave the core faculty at UChicago 

Agreed. I'd guess it's money or family considerations.