Marxism:

- Key principles:
o Historical materialism
 A society’s ideology/ideals shaped by material conditions, i.e., forces of
production like labour, natural resources, productive equipment, social
relations associated with the production process
 The material is influenced by the ideal as well, although the material is the
primary driving force behind social change.
o Dialectics
 This materialism is what drives historical change in a dialectical process of
thesis-antithesis-synthesis (Hegelian), which was originally focused on how
new ideas are formed
 In Marxist thinking: Contradictions within the current mode of production
(thesis) give rise to opposing forces (antithesis), leading to a new mode of
production (synthesis).
 This dialectical process has led history through different modes of
production - primitive communism, slavery, feudalism, capitalism, and
communism.
o Class struggle
 Within each mode of production there are conflicts of interest between
classes that emerge in society (the thesis and antithesis).
 These conflicts of interest lead to struggle between the classes for
advancement of their interests
 The proletariat seek better working conditions, more pay etc. The
bourgeoisie seek to maintain their profits and control over production
o Change and revolution
 Class struggle can intensify and lead to significant changes in society. As the
contradictions within a mode of production become more pronounced, it
may create a revolutionary situation where the working class seeks to
overthrow the existing economic and social system.
 Through revolution, societies can transition to different modes of production
o Critique of capitalism
 critique capitalism as an economic system that exploits the working class for
the benefit of the owning class. They argue that capitalism inherently leads
to inequality, alienation, and crises.
 the bourgeoisie exploits the proletariat by paying them less than the value
they produce through their labor. This the bourgeoisie’s source of profit –
extracting surplus value from their workforce
o Alienation of labor
 A concept developed by Karl Marx to describe the estrangement or
disconnection that workers feel in capitalist societies
 It reflects a sense of feeling separated from the products of one's labor, from
the labor process itself, from one's fellow workers, and from one's true
human potential
o Hegemony
- Key theorists:
o Karl Marx: early Marx vs late Marx
 o Antonio Gramsci
o Louis Althusser – ISAs and RSAs
- Theory Development:
o
- Examples (readings):
o Readings:
 Varoufakis, Yanis. “Introduction to the Communist Manifesto”, London:
Vintage, 2018.
- Epistemology
- Ontology:
- Methodology
- Key debates:

Discourse theory:

- Key principles:
o
- Key Theorists:
o
- Theory development:
o
- Examples (readings):
o Readings:
 Epstein, Charlotte, ‘Making Meaning Matter in International Relations’, The
Power of Words in International Relations: Birth of an Anti-Whaling
Discourse. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2008), pp. 1-23 (you can stop at pg. 16)
- Epistemology
- Ontology:
- Methodology:
- Key debates:

Feminism:

- Key principles:
- Theory Development:
- Examples (readings):
o Readings:
- Epistemology
- Ontology:
- Methodology
- Key debates:

Institutionalism:
 - Key principles:
- Theory Development:
- Examples (readings):
o Readings:
- Epistemology
- Ontology:
- Methodology
- Key debates:

Postcolonialism:

- Key principles:
- Theory Development:
- Examples (readings):
o Readings:
- Epistemology
- Ontology:
- Methodology
- Key debates: