Meetings
Marxism will feature 200 different meetings on a wide variety of different issues, with speakers from across the world.
Courses
Some meetings have been grouped together in courses - a series of meetings held in the same venue one after the other. Those attending courses can engage in more in-depth discussions, with later meetings building on earlier ones.
Themes
Other meetings are grouped together in themes peppered through the timetable. It is not necessary to go to all the meetings on a particular theme, but they will help to signpost topics that may be of particular interest to those attending.
Here we highlight just a few themes in more detail.
Capitalism & Crisis
Despite regular talk of recovery in the financial pages of the press, the global economic crisis continues. This theme will look behind the headlines to examine the roots of the crisis and what it tells us about the system today. Full details
Marxist Thinkers
Figures such as Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Rosa Luxemburg, Leon Trotsky and Antonio Gramsci each made important contributions to the fight for a better world, but each has suffered the distortion and misrepresentation of their ideas. This theme will ask what they really stood for and consider their relevance for the struggles we face today. A second theme will look in detail at an even more controversial figure - Lenin. Full details
Women's Liberation
The past few years have seen a surge in interest in the politics of women's liberation. This has come in response to a new wave of sexism, expressed through "raunch culture", lad-mags and strip clubs springing up in towns and cities. This theme will look at sexism today and historically, and ask what socialists say about women's liberation and capitalism. Full details
Anti-fascism
The far right, as well as the radical left, can grow in times of crisis - especially in a climate of racism directed towards groups such as immigrants and Muslims. In Britain the BNP suffered heavy losses of councillors at the recent elections, but still polled half a million votes. The English, Scottish and Welsh Defence Leagues have sought to mobilise on the streets to terrorise Asian areas. This theme will discuss the successes of the anti-fascist movement, the challenges ahead and the lessons of history. Full details
LGBT Liberation
The struggle for liberation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people is back on the political agenda. Socialists have a proud tradition of fighting to defend and extend LGBT rights. This theme will consider recent debates in LGBT politics. Full details
Introducing Marx's Economics
Capitalists and their apologists struggle to explain the very system that they benefit from. Speakers in this course will argue that Marx's writings, if applied creatively to an ever-changing world, provide us with the tools we need to understand capitalism's dynamism and its tendency towards crisis. ULU 3C&D on Saturday
Civil Liberties and the State
Is the state becoming more authoritarian? What are the police for? Why do we live in a surveillance society? The death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests last year highlighted how pressing these questions have become. They are the questions that will be addressed in this theme, with contributions from speakers who have been at the receiving end of some of the most brutal miscarriages of justice. Full details
Climate Change
Last December saw the spectacular failure of politicians to deal with a possible ecological catastrophe during the Copenhagen climate talks. This theme will look at the origins of the threat we face and how best to respond to it, as well as addressing some of the key debates within the climate movement. Full details
Class Struggle in Britain
The Tory-Liberal Democrat government's plans to unleash a barrage of attacks on working class people. This theme will ask how workers have fought back in the past and discuss the issues we face today. Full details
Imperialism
A major feature of the international political landscape over the last few years has been war and occupation in the Middle East and beyond, and also the international resistance to imperialist barbarism. The economic crisis means that competitive tensions between states are increasing, and the potential for future conflict remains strong. This course of meetings will address the questions of contemporary war and occupation with meetings looking at Iraq and Afghanistan, and also the theoretical issues concerning imperialism and its development. Full details
Other courses & themes include:
- The Marxist Method - IE Elvin Hall on Sunday
- The International Socialist Tradition - ULU 3C&D on Friday
- Lenin & Leninism
- Radical thinkers & radical thought
- Strategy & tactics
- Class in the 21st century
- The Labour Party
- The Tories
- Anti-racism
- Marxism & culture
- The media
- Palestine & Zionism
- Education
- Anarchism & autonomism
- Science
- Latin America
- Africa
- Great revolutions