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The postmodern moments in the Marxist tradition
Abstract
By virtue of his powerful notion of overdetermination, Althusser lays the groundwork for the fusion of Marxism and postmodernism. Althusser's overdetermination is an attempt to go beyond or break out of the essentialist dichotomies. As is interpreted by the Amherst School, Althusserian overdeterminism does not take Marxism and postmodernism as oppositional and alternative theoretical frameworks but sees them as closely related and even inseparably intertwined in taking Marxism in new directions. One contribution of my work is in the presentation and elaboration of this articulation between Marxism and postmodernism. In light of Althusserian overdeterminism, I will demonstrate these points of articulation from Marxism to postmodernism using instances of postmodern expressions and impulses found in the works of Lenin, Lukacs, and Gramsci. My project therefore is an attempt to shed light on the postmodern moments in the Marxist tradition through the theoretical framework of Althusserian overdeterminism. This, however, is not to say that these theorists are full-blown postmodernists. I would rather like to make visible the glimpses or impulses of the overdeterminist (postmodern) theory they formulate while they are attacking non-Marxist thinking as, what may be called, essentialist (modernist).
Subject Area
Social research|Philosophy|Political science
Recommended Citation
Shin, Jo-Young, "The postmodern moments in the Marxist tradition" (1997). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9721491.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9721491