IDEAS IN MOTION

Quiz preparation conversation on Pierre Bourdieu as per: Harris, N. (2024), Chapter 6 - Pierre Bourdieu: Class Meets Culture Foundations of Social Theory: A Critical Introduction, Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group (pp. 104-122).

Quiz preparation dialogue on the early Frankfurt School as per Harris, N. (2024) Chapter 5: The Early Frankfurt School: What Happened to the Revolution? In Foundations of Social Theory: A Critical Introduction, Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group. (pp. 84-98)

Source under discussion: Harris, N. (2024), Chapter 6: Pierre Bourdieu: Class Meets Culture ; in Foundations of Social Theory: A Critical Introduction, Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group. (pp. 104–122)

This episode discusses the following source: Harris, N. (2024), Chapter 5: The Early Frankfurt School: What Happened to the Revolution? Links to an external site. In Foundations of Social Theory: A Critical Introduction , Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group (pp. 84-98). This academic chapter, "The Early Frankfurt School," explores the origins and core ideas of this influential group of th...

Marginalization of racialized academic labor: what the recent literature tell us on how to invesitagate and addres this matter

Topics covered are as follows: (1) The Multidimensional Crisis of Capitalism; (2) Social Reproduction as the Background Condition for the Exploitation of Labor; (3) Expropriation and Capital Accumulation; (4) The Housing Crisis as an Example of Exploitation & Expropriation; (5) Boundary Struggles in the Gig Economy; (6) Crisis in Care Work & Cannibal Capitalism; (7) Racial & Gender Opp...

The chapter under discussion here introduces the concept of "cannibal capitalism" as a critical theory to understand contemporary crises.  It argues that traditional Marxist accounts of capitalism, focused on economic exploitation, are insufficient for grasping current multidimensional challenges.  Instead, the author proposes expanding our understanding of capitalism to encompass its dependence o...

The chapter provides an overview of Karl Marx's social theory, examining his dialectical groundings, concepts of dehumanisation and humanism, and his theory of historical materialism. It explores Marx's theory of value and systemic collapse, along with his ideas on social classes, the state, and revolution. The chapter further analyses Marx's perspectives on race, ethnicity, and gender...

This AI-generated conversation introduces  Karl Marx's sociological theory using Ritzer and Stepnisky's Chapter on Marx , focusing on his dialectical approach and materialist conception of history. It outlines Marx's critique of capitalism, highlighting concepts such as  alienation, exploitation, and class conflict.  The text explains how Marx viewed capitalism as a system inherently driven by con...

An AI-generated conversation shaped around the "Read Me First" document, focusing on helping students overcome their fear of social theory and become more engaged.

How can we use social theory—through learning, developing, and applying it—to guard ourselves against the lure of conspiracy theories? This AI-generated podcast episode was created specifically for this course to explore that very question. It aims to spark thoughtful discussions and highlight the critical importance of social theory in navigating today’s complex information landscape.

An AI-generated chat that presents an overview of sociological theory, its creation, and its key characteristics. It explores the contrast between everyday theorizing and sociological theory, the importance of broad social issues, and the influence of political factors on the sociological canon... It also touches upon the inclusion of previously marginalized perspectives and the structure of socio...

In this episode, we dive into Dr. S. A. Hamed Hosseini’s thought-provoking paper,  "Labour Redefined: Toward a Communist Value Theory of Labour Under and Beyond Capital."  We explore how capitalism has warped our understanding of labor and its intrinsic value, reducing it to mere market price and profit while ignoring deeper human and social dimensions. Hosseini introduces the concept of...

In Part 2, the focus of the conversation is more on Sections 4 and 5 of the paper, The Well-living Paradigm by S A Hamed Hosseini

This podcast episode generated by AI presents a lively conversation that aims to introduce the long article, The Well-living Paradigm , written by S A Hamed Hosseini in 2023.

With Trump’s return to office, the U.S. enters a new phase of authoritarian neoliberalism, a system that merges privatization, deregulation, and market dominance with concentrated political control. This is not an anomaly but the natural progression of capitalism’s trajectory, where corporate and political power consolidate under the guise of restoring greatness. Drawing on the enduring legacies o...

Plotinus, the founder of Neoplatonism, was born around 205 CE in Lyco or Lycopolis, Egypt. At the age of 28, he moved to Alexandria, which was under Roman rule, to study philosophy under Ammonius Saccas. There is some debate about whether he was of Egyptian, Greek, or mixed descent, but scholars agree that he had a Greek education and was proficient in Greek. During his time, the famous Library of...

Ernest Mandel's Introduction to Capital Volume 3

In a recent and startling development, encapsulated by the headline “BREAKING NEWS: MASS RESIGNATION OF THEORY & SOCIETY’S EDITORIAL BOARD,” the entire editorial board of the journal ‘Theory & Society’ (originally established by Alvin Gouldner1) has collectively resigned. This unprecedented move brings to the fore the deep-seated issues plaguing the academic publishing industry. The resignation…

Listen to the second part of the sixth chapter of the book in this episode Chapter 6 Recharting the debates on labor theory of value in light of smart machines, affect, and climate change Abstract This chapter delves into the ongoing debates surrounding the relevance of the Marxian Labor Theory of Value (LTV) in the context of emerging challenges posed by smart machines, the crisis of care and soc...

Listen to the first part of the sixth chapter of the book in this episode

Listen to the second part of the fifth chapter of the book in this episode Chapter 5 Toward a commonist (labor) theory of value Abstract This chapter reconstructs the Marxian labor theory of value (LTV) using the commonist approach to value developed in the previous chapters. It redefines labor as a decommonized form of (more than) human creative power under capital. It explores the decommonizatio...

Listen to the first part of the fifth chapter of the book in this episode Chapter 5 Toward a commonist (labor) theory of value  Abstract This chapter reconstructs the Marxian labor theory of value (LTV) using the commonist approach to value developed in the previous chapters. It redefines labor as a decommonized form of (more than) human creative power under capital. It explores the decommonizatio...

Listen to the second part of the fifth chapter of the book in this episode

Listen to the first part of the fifth chapter of the book in this episode