May 1, 4:30 pm, the Money, Markets and Governance Workshop presents: A Special Panel – Is Marx Still Relevant to the Social Sciences in 2018?

While Karl Marx is considered part of the canon of several disciplines that read him in their undergraduate and graduate classes, and even though Class is a widespread category in social sciences today, there is a real question regarding the place of Marx’s concepts and form of critique in contemporary mainstream sociology and the other empirical social sciences. The few “islands” in which Marxist theory is still alive and applied, like the Marxist Sociology section of the ASA, are small and, indeed, seem insular. And it is telling that the arguably most influential book in recent years that took on critique of capitalism, was written not by a sociologist, political scientist or even a historian, but rather by an economist (Piketty, Capital in the 21^st Century). To mark Marx’s bicentenary (on May 5^th), the Money, Markets and Governance Workshop will bring together a panel of young and accomplished scholars, who will reflect on the question of Marx’s contemporary relevance in their academic fields and in their own work. Prof. Sewell will provide comments to the discussion.