Anti-Capitalist Feminisms [4-weeks, $200 Suggested]

Instructor: Andrews | Tuesdays February 1-22 | 6:30-8:30 PM ET

Perhaps now more than any other time of year, many of us feel as though our lives are overtaken by the demands of consumerism, the expectations of emotional labor, and endless housework. Why are we so compelled to spend money and take on debt, while simultaneously doing so much unpaid labor? And why is that burden placed most strongly on feminized and maginalized groups? In fact, the origins of capitalism depended on the invention of waged labor, and the simultaneous devaluation and feminization of care work and domestic labor, which are often unwaged. Critiquing and opposing capitalism, then, is fundamentally a feminist issue! And yet the dominant model of feminism in the US is liberal feminism, which Nancy Fraser has described as the “handmaiden” of capitalism—a mode of feminism that calls for, say, more CEOs (“lean in!”) rather than the abolition of corporate wealth and income inequality. How is this possible? And how can we work against complicity in our own exploitation? In this four-week theory seminar, we will learn about and discuss theoretical concepts that inform our capacities to critique capitalism, such as feminization, primitive accumulation, alienation, surplus value, ideology, and class struggle. And we will read and discuss important feminist texts that analyze the incompatibility of feminism and capitalism, while simultaneously addressing the intersections of capitalism with other modes of domination, such as patriarchy and white supremacy. Authors read will include: Marx & Engels, Rosa Luxemburg, Alexandra Kollontai, Selma James, Silvia Federici, Cheryl Harris, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, Shulamith Firestone, Nancy Fraser, Tithi Bhattacharya, and Cinzia Arruzza.

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