1. Marxist Literary Theory aka “Dialectical Materialism,” “Historical Materialism,” “Sociological Criticism” A text is written by its [material] context

2. In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto. They were concerned about workers’ rights, conditions of the working classes, and freedoms for underprivileged people groups. Marxism was essentially a way to view and analyze world conditions and historical developments. Eventually, their ideas spread across Europe, revolutions, and were adapted by Lenin and Stalin. Today in the “Western” world, Marxism mostly survives in academia as a protest against Capitalist excess. http://img.tfd.com/authors/marx.jpg http://webspace.webring.com/people/xm/mlause/Hist609/Hist609images/friedrich_engels.jpg

3. MAIN IDEAS http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_HZc7gUUMY0c/SF3CXyQX60I/AAAAAAAAAz8/z9K8EOFXJWA/s400/waiter-cartoon.jpg - History is a cycle of struggles between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

4. MAIN IDEAS http://myhome.iolfree.ie/~lightbulb/Images/Marxist-Aliens.gif - Workers are alienated from their labor and from themselves

5. MAIN IDEAS http://www.imageenvision.com - All cultural products can be analyzed as if they were works of literature

6. MAIN IDEAS http://www.infoukes.com/history/ww2/ - Writers and writings are shaped by economic context

7. MAIN IDEAS http://cdn.head-fi.org/9/9f/9f545fab_power-of-the-pen.jpg - Literature can be a political tool

9. Some Questions Marxist Literary Critics Ask: Does your novel support the economic and social status quo, or does it advocate change? What role does the class system play in your novel? What is the author's analysis of class relations? What does the author's work say about oppression? Are social conflicts ignored or blamed elsewhere? Does the text raise criticism about the emptiness of a life in bourgeoise society? Are characters from all skill levels equally sketched?

10. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0Oq8GFXLdA8/SbWaLMrLgjI/AAAAAAAAABw/Zf3zXf8x8EE/s400/abandon%2520rights%2520at%2520corporate%2520gate%2520cartoon.bmp

11. ONE MAIN QUESTION: How was this text “written” by its material conditions [economics, work, society, class, politics]? http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/rni/lowres/rnin295l.jpg

12. http://kaututang-dila.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html

13. How to “do” a Marxist reading: 1. Look for examples of oppression, bad working conditions, class struggles, etc. 2. Search for the “covert” meaning underneath the “overt,” which is about class struggle, historical stages, economic conditions, etc. 3. Relate the context of a work to the social-class status of the author. 4. Relate the literary work to the social conditions of its time period. 5. Explain an entire genre in terms of its social period. 6. Show how literature is shaped by political, economic, labor, and class conditions.

14. [Potentially] Positive Aspects of Marxist Criticism It has real-world applications It makes connections with work, politics, money, etc. It is concerned about the conditions of oppressed people

15. [Potentially] Negative Aspects of Marxist Criticism It is really easy to fake It always gets entangled with politics It quickly moves away from the text into (only) context It readily makes value judgments on literature

16. THE CONTEXT WRITES THE TEXT

17. Sources Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 2 nd edition. NY: Manchester UP, 2002. Print. Brizee, Allen, and J. Case Tompkins. “Literary Theory and Schools of Criticism.” Copyright ©1995-2011 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. Web. 13 Sept. 2011. Sim, Stuart and Borin van Loon. Introducing Critical Theory: A Graphic Guide. Totem Books, 2005. Print.