Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism Reading Group [Online]
Full Tuition: $200 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.
Instructor: Lindsey Andrews | 3 Weeks | Sundays April 14 - April 28 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET | ONLINE
“It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” Mark Fisher’s 2009 treatise, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative, begins with this famous claim attributed to Marxist scholar Fredric Jameson. Fisher argues that since 1989, “capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system–a situation that the bank crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded.” Why is it so hard to imagine an alternative? Why do our lives seem inextricably determined by and beholden to an economic system that exacerbates inequality while stealing our time, work, and energy for someone else’s profit? The book analyzes the development and principal features of “capitalist realism” as a lived ideological framework. Using examples from politics, films, fiction, work, and education, it argues that capitalist realism colors all areas of contemporary experience. But it will also show that, because of a number of inconsistencies and glitches internal to the capitalist reality program, capitalism in fact is anything but realistic. Over the course of three weeks, we will read this short but dense and powerful 90 page work, unpacking why we’ve come to perceive life under capitalism as the only possible reality, and ask what we can do about it.
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Recordings may be provided upon request for missed classes.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage, and your tuition goes toward supporting this practice. Please pick the payment tier that corresponds to your needs, and consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We will never request or require proof of need, and do not use an income-based sliding scale; we trust you to decide what payment tier is right for you. If you would like additional support deciding or would like to learn more about the practice of using a sliding scale, we recommend this resource from Embracing Equity.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
Asynchronous Auditing: Classes are discussion-based and designed to be taken synchronously. However, we do offer an asynchronous audit option for most online classes if you need to follow along at your own pace. You must choose the audit option to receive all course recordings; please do not register using a scholarship if you do not plan to attend the majority of class sessions as you will not receive the recording materials to follow along. We do not automatically offer scholarships for auditors, but if you need one, you may request one by filling out this form.
Full Tuition: $200 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.
Instructor: Lindsey Andrews | 3 Weeks | Sundays April 14 - April 28 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET | ONLINE
“It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” Mark Fisher’s 2009 treatise, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative, begins with this famous claim attributed to Marxist scholar Fredric Jameson. Fisher argues that since 1989, “capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system–a situation that the bank crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded.” Why is it so hard to imagine an alternative? Why do our lives seem inextricably determined by and beholden to an economic system that exacerbates inequality while stealing our time, work, and energy for someone else’s profit? The book analyzes the development and principal features of “capitalist realism” as a lived ideological framework. Using examples from politics, films, fiction, work, and education, it argues that capitalist realism colors all areas of contemporary experience. But it will also show that, because of a number of inconsistencies and glitches internal to the capitalist reality program, capitalism in fact is anything but realistic. Over the course of three weeks, we will read this short but dense and powerful 90 page work, unpacking why we’ve come to perceive life under capitalism as the only possible reality, and ask what we can do about it.
—
Recordings may be provided upon request for missed classes.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage, and your tuition goes toward supporting this practice. Please pick the payment tier that corresponds to your needs, and consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We will never request or require proof of need, and do not use an income-based sliding scale; we trust you to decide what payment tier is right for you. If you would like additional support deciding or would like to learn more about the practice of using a sliding scale, we recommend this resource from Embracing Equity.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
Asynchronous Auditing: Classes are discussion-based and designed to be taken synchronously. However, we do offer an asynchronous audit option for most online classes if you need to follow along at your own pace. You must choose the audit option to receive all course recordings; please do not register using a scholarship if you do not plan to attend the majority of class sessions as you will not receive the recording materials to follow along. We do not automatically offer scholarships for auditors, but if you need one, you may request one by filling out this form.
Full Tuition: $200 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.
Instructor: Lindsey Andrews | 3 Weeks | Sundays April 14 - April 28 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET | ONLINE
“It’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” Mark Fisher’s 2009 treatise, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative, begins with this famous claim attributed to Marxist scholar Fredric Jameson. Fisher argues that since 1989, “capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system–a situation that the bank crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded.” Why is it so hard to imagine an alternative? Why do our lives seem inextricably determined by and beholden to an economic system that exacerbates inequality while stealing our time, work, and energy for someone else’s profit? The book analyzes the development and principal features of “capitalist realism” as a lived ideological framework. Using examples from politics, films, fiction, work, and education, it argues that capitalist realism colors all areas of contemporary experience. But it will also show that, because of a number of inconsistencies and glitches internal to the capitalist reality program, capitalism in fact is anything but realistic. Over the course of three weeks, we will read this short but dense and powerful 90 page work, unpacking why we’ve come to perceive life under capitalism as the only possible reality, and ask what we can do about it.
—
Recordings may be provided upon request for missed classes.
Sliding Scale: Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage, and your tuition goes toward supporting this practice. Please pick the payment tier that corresponds to your needs, and consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We will never request or require proof of need, and do not use an income-based sliding scale; we trust you to decide what payment tier is right for you. If you would like additional support deciding or would like to learn more about the practice of using a sliding scale, we recommend this resource from Embracing Equity.
Scholarships: We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class. Our full scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering, limited to one per student per month.Because our scholarship funding is limited, selecting multiple full scholarships in a single month will result in disenrollment from all classes. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out please email us directly, and we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if additional scholarships become available. Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans and refund policy.
Asynchronous Auditing: Classes are discussion-based and designed to be taken synchronously. However, we do offer an asynchronous audit option for most online classes if you need to follow along at your own pace. You must choose the audit option to receive all course recordings; please do not register using a scholarship if you do not plan to attend the majority of class sessions as you will not receive the recording materials to follow along. We do not automatically offer scholarships for auditors, but if you need one, you may request one by filling out this form.