Not for the first time, Marxism is considered to be in a state of 'crisis'. This thesis seeks to 'underlabour' on behalf of a particular version of Marxism, a version articulated with force, coherence and great originality for over two decades within human geography: what David Harvey (1985a: xii), in a paradigmatic formulation, has called 'historicalgeographical materialism'. A research programme, rather than the work of any one individual, historical-geographical materialism has in various ways and at various levels creatively extended the classical Marxist canon in a geographical direction. Yet today it is considered increasingly passe by critics on the Left as well as the Right of human geography, reflecting the wider ennui with Marxism outside the discipline. In particular, it is seen as being too 'modern' - too foundationalist, totalising and authoritative in its cognitive and normative claims - to contribute effectively to a critical human geography for the 1990s. Against this, this thesis seeks to develop an alternative reading of the core claims of this research programme by offering a novel reinterpretation of Marx's mature political-economy. Rewriting Marx's account of what Postone (1996: 1) calls "the fundamental core of capitalism", the thesis puts this reinterpretation of the explanatorydiagnostic basis of Marx's critique to work on three major themes of historicalgeographical materialism: the production of space, the production pf nature and the production of subjectivity. It does so in order to illustrate the explanatory power, thematic reach and theoretical coherence of this reinterpretation, as well as its relevance to the late capitalist world. In closing, the normative or anticipatory-utopian basis of this reinterpreted historical-geographical materialism is considered and its political implications for today thereby scrutinised. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

The thesis examines the History Workshop at the University of the University of the Witwatersrand in the context of radical South African historical scholarship. Not only is the History Workshop shown to mirror developments in radical scholarship but it is seen to guide and stimulate particular directions of research. The history of the Workshop is traced and its academic as well as popularising activities are examined. The Marxist social history approach, which was encouraged by the Workshop, is considered with reference to the social and political environment in which it emerged, and the international and local historiographical context. The issues, themes and concepts reflective of that approach are unpacked and some thought is given to their impact on Marxist categories of analysis. The History Workshop is seen to reflect and to have some influence on the direction pursued in labour and urban as well as rural history. In labour history, it pursued concerns of the social history of labour. Labour history was to take two different paths in the 1980's due partially to the influence of the Workshop group. Urban history grew rapidly as a field in the 1980's. The triennial Workshops reflected that development while the Workshop group particularly encouraged social history concerns within that field. The development of Marxist social history is seen in the change from an economistic approach in some of the papers presented at the first History Workshops to a broader social history emphasis in many of the later papers. The themes and issues arising out of urban Marxist social history are considered, as is their impact on the understanding of South Africa's urban history in general. The Workshop reflected and encouraged social history themes in rural history studies, which was another expanding field of research in the 1980's. These themes incorporated Africanist insight as well as an emphasis on oral history and local history. The Marxist social history studies, which were presented at the triennial Workshops, produced new insights into the rural history of South Africa which challenged earlier theories. The History Workshop with its materialist social history approach acted as a forum and as such, a catalyst for a radical scholarship in South Africa. The triennial workshops reflected what was happening in the terrain of Marxist social history. These Workshops, which attracted a large gathering of local, as well as foreign academics, legitimised that research and gave the Marxist social history scholars a certain standing within the local academic community. Although the study of South Africa's past may have similar directions in the late 1970's and 1980's without the presence of the Workshop, that presence gave a coherence and an added impetus to those routes of Marxist social history.

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The purpose of this study is to use Marxist theory of alienation to explain voting patterns among impoverished Southerners. This research is important in explaining the relationship among alienation, religiosity, politics of opposition, and their impact on voting trends in the southern portion of the United States. I will construct a Marxian model based on the literature available and test it by using data in the General Social Survey of 1998. I will construct a concept of class based on the interaction of alienation and income. I will then test it by running multiple linear regressions to see if the hypothesized relationships of positive correlations exist among class and politics of opposition, apathy, and religion. I will also examine the relationship between religion and politics of opposition. And lastly I will see how all of these factors influence political ideology. / Master of Science

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.I.S.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-97). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Political Science, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

Thesis--Uppsala. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-184).