Marxist Literary Group
Encyclopedia
The Marxist Literary Group (MLG) is an affiliate of the Modern Language Association
centered on scholarly discussion of the contributions of Marxism and the Marxist tradition in the humanities and related disciplines. It holds an annual summer institute, holds sessions at the MLA convention, and publishes the journal Mediations
. It is also an affiliate of the Midwest Modern Language Association and occasionally sponsors sessions at other regional MLA conferences.
and several of his graduate students at the University of California, San Diego. The group emerged out of the 1968 MLA conference in New York City. Whereas groups such as the Radical Caucus focused their energies on pedagogy and social activism, the MLG was concerned with providing a firm theoretical grounding for the New Left as well as cultivating Marxist intellectuals.
The MLG quickly became the largest affiliate group in the MLA, running 14 sessions at the 1975 conference and organizing Marxist scholars nationwide. The first Institute on Culture and Society took place in St.. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1976, including speakers such as Fredric Jameson
, Stanley Aronowitz
, Terry Eagleton
, Gayatri Spivak, Michael Ryan, Gene Holland, June Howard, and John Beverly. Subsequent Institutes have dealt with a wide range of topics, including cultural studies
, postmodernism
, post-structuralism
, psychoanalysis
, post-colonial discourse, feminism
, and left politics. A newsletter was set up in the early 1970s, which evolved into the journal Mediations by 1991. These activities were instrumental in allowing Marxist theory and criticism to gain a foothold in the academy.
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
centered on scholarly discussion of the contributions of Marxism and the Marxist tradition in the humanities and related disciplines. It holds an annual summer institute, holds sessions at the MLA convention, and publishes the journal Mediations
Mediations Journal
is the journal of the Marxist Literary Group. Begun by Fredric Jameson as a theoretical newsletter in the early 1970s, it was established as a journal in 1990-91 by Ron Strickland and Chris Newfield...
. It is also an affiliate of the Midwest Modern Language Association and occasionally sponsors sessions at other regional MLA conferences.
History
The MLG was formed in 1969 by Fredric JamesonFredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
and several of his graduate students at the University of California, San Diego. The group emerged out of the 1968 MLA conference in New York City. Whereas groups such as the Radical Caucus focused their energies on pedagogy and social activism, the MLG was concerned with providing a firm theoretical grounding for the New Left as well as cultivating Marxist intellectuals.
The MLG quickly became the largest affiliate group in the MLA, running 14 sessions at the 1975 conference and organizing Marxist scholars nationwide. The first Institute on Culture and Society took place in St.. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1976, including speakers such as Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
, Stanley Aronowitz
Stanley Aronowitz
Stanley Aronowitz is professor of sociology, cultural studies, and urban education at the CUNY Graduate Center. He is also a veteran political activist and cultural critic and an advocate for organized labor.-Social Text:...
, Terry Eagleton
Terry Eagleton
Terence Francis Eagleton FBA is a British literary theorist and critic, who is regarded as one of Britain's most influential living literary critics...
, Gayatri Spivak, Michael Ryan, Gene Holland, June Howard, and John Beverly. Subsequent Institutes have dealt with a wide range of topics, including cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
, postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
, post-structuralism
Post-structuralism
Post-structuralism is a label formulated by American academics to denote the heterogeneous works of a series of French intellectuals who came to international prominence in the 1960s and '70s...
, psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
, post-colonial discourse, feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, and left politics. A newsletter was set up in the early 1970s, which evolved into the journal Mediations by 1991. These activities were instrumental in allowing Marxist theory and criticism to gain a foothold in the academy.
Presidents
- Eugene Holland (1974-1978)
- Paul Smith (1988–1997)
- Jamie Owen Daniel (1997-2005)
- Nicholas Brown (2005–present)
Activities
- MLG Summer Institute on Culture and Society.http://mlg.eserver.org/institute
- Mediations: Journal of the Marxist Literary Group http://www.mediationsjournal.org/
- The Michael Sprinker Graduate Writing Competition http://mlg.eserver.org/sprinker-prize