It’s been a while. I haven’t forgotten about Substack and all you wonderful readers. Writing is my favorite medium, and it always will be. Lately, I’ve been too busy to write new articles, but I’ve been thinking about a range of topics. Everything from how I teach Marxism, confronting ennui, and responding to current events has crossed my mind. I do plan on writing these, but I haven’t had the time lately between moving, traveling, and teaching.
I’ve also been devoting more time to meeting you all one-on-one through my online courses. The reviews of Political Economy are in, and it is clear that participants gained a great deal from the course and enjoyed working with me on a personal level through the live lecture and discussion component. I asked participants to contribute anonymous “course evaluations,” and these are the answers I got…
The readings that were picked out were excellent and informative. I appreciate the flexibility with course meetings.
Open discussion, flexible scheduling
The course started with readings that needed little context, and worked through the writings of those that built in them. This presented the development of ideas that underpin some of the politics present in all the countries of the world today in a very short time.
Good lecture tempo (not too slow, not too fast) - in discussion Alex seems to know how to ask the right questions (in discussions) to steer us (students) in the right direction
Clear and easy to follow presentation, Alex is very knowledgeable and connects the different ideas and theories together well, informal setting is enjoyable, the recorded video is great for when I can't make it live and to go back to.
Very informative, good resources
I liked the way the content was organized both in the lecture and the selected reading. I feel that the content presented by the professor gave me a good understanding of the fundamentals of each school of economics covered and the ideas therein. I also like how the course was set up such that while there was new information present it also built on the content presented in the previous readings and lectures.
The in depth lectures and the reading materials. I also like that there is an actual class and this isn’t asynchronous.
I like learning more about the various schools of economics with the combination with placing it within the historical context.
I really appreciate the perspective and approach this brief class takes. The exposure of new texts expands and adds to my nascent understanding of Marx, political economy and Marxism. Alex is fantastic as professor; I am challenged without feeling like I'm being talked down to. The people in the class are also quite welcoming and thoughtful in their comments.
Initially, I offered the ‘Introduction to Political Economy’ course as a foundation for understanding Marx’s Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, which I still intend to do in the future. However, as we delved into the history of political economy, I realized there is an abundance of historical detail supporting the major schools of thought, particularly the classical, Austrian, and liberal schools that we just couldn’t give adequate attention to in just one hour lectures. A comprehensive course on Modern Europe would incorporate all of this context. Therefore, from mid-July to mid-August, I will be offering a course on Modern European History (1789-2019).
There is so much to go over to slowly undo the liberal historicism that no doubt you’ve all been taught, and yet I understand attention spans are short. I’ve designed the class to be 5 weeks long, with one meeting per week. We will begin with the Ancien Regime and end with the War in Ukraine, paying particular attention to the themes of revolution, capitalism, nationalism, political economy, cultural change, and that sticky word “modernity.”
I am convinced that a materialist understanding of European History, and by extension (and thanks to capitalism) world history, sufficiently contextualizes our world today. Usually, when I start the course, I open with former Chancellor of Germany Olaf Sholz’s speech to the German Bundestag upon Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine (skip to 7:11). In it, he makes references to a “world order” created after World War Two. By the end of the class, students are able to explain what that world order is, how it came to be, and why Russia is threatening it, not in ‘civilizational’ terms but in real materialist terms.
So if you are interested, please follow the link here and at checkout use the code CD774 for 10% off the price. Once you pay, read the instructions for enrollment. I look forward to seeing your name pop up in the Telegram channel!