This course examines how three influential Marxist thinkers—Herbert Marcuse, Evald Ilyenkov, and Fredric Jameson—grapple with the relationship between consciousness, ideology, and social transformation. Engaging both Western and Soviet traditions, you will explore critical theory, dialectical logic and cultural analysis to better understand how human thought and experience are shaped by, and resist, capitalist society. No prior knowledge of Marxism or philosophy is needed. The course emphasises open discussion, conceptual clarity, and practical relevance.
You will critically engage with contemporary thinkers—Foucault, Deleuze, and Badiou—who move beyond the phenomenological tradition. Each week focuses on a single philosopher and theme, guiding you through complex ideas in an accessible and conversational format.
Combining short lectures with open discussion, the course encourages active reflection and critical dialogue. You will develop the tools to question inherited assumptions about subjectivity, power, and truth, and to think creatively about experience and its limits. Whether for personal enrichment, intellectual exploration, or preparation for further study, this course offers fresh and lasting insight into some of the most provocative developments in modern thought.
Week 1: One-Dimensional Man, Part I – Technological Rationality and Conformity
Topics: Advanced industrial society, ideology, false needs
Focus: How capitalist societies suppress critical thinking and dissent
Week 2: One-Dimensional Man, Part II – False Liberation and Cultural Containment
Topics: Cultural integration, language, and the containment of opposition
Focus: The subtle ways ideology limits freedom and alternatives
Week 3: Repressive Tolerance and the Problem of Liberation
Topics: Tolerance as a political tool, radical change, activism
Focus: Why tolerating all views may actually protect oppressive systems
Week 4: The Ideal as a Social Reality
Topics: Ideal vs. material, critique of empiricism
Focus: How consciousness is socially shaped and objectively real
Week 5: Thought as Objective Activity
Topics: Dialectics, activity theory, mental development
Focus: Understanding thought as a product of labour and social practice
Week 6: Ilyenkov and Soviet Marxism
Topics: Human development, education, collective reasoning
Focus: How dialectical logic offers an alternative to positivism and individualism
Week 7: Postmodernism and the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism
Topics: Postmodern aesthetics, consumerism, fragmentation
Focus: How capitalism shapes our cultural and psychological experience
Week 8: The Political Unconscious – History as Narrative
Topics: Ideology, allegory, utopian longing
Focus: Reading literature and culture as sites of historical struggle
Week 9: Dialectical Criticism and the Problem of Totality
Topics: Totality, contradiction, critique
Focus: Jameson’s defense of dialectical thinking in a fragmented world
Week 10: Synthesis and Reflection
Topics: Comparative discussion of Marcuse, Ilyenkov, and Jameson
Activities: Open discussion, group reflection, optional short presentations
Focus: How Marxist thought continues to offer tools for critique and change today
To be eligible for this course you must be 19 or over on 31st August prior to the course start date.
Any introductory course in philosophy but also other humanities courses such as sociology and history.
To successfully complete this course, you must commit to 100% attendance and punctuality.
An initial assessment will be made on the first day against the learning objectives for the course. This becomes part of your Personal Learning Plan. Throughout the course your tutor will then use formative assessments (including performance during group work, quizzes, Q and A) to capture progress and give a final or summative assessment .
This course is ideal for lifelong learners, educators, community members, and anyone interested in how contemporary thinkers challenge and rethink the nature of experience, knowledge and subjectivity.