Specifically Marxist Macroeconomics Graduate Programs in the US?

March 6, 2011 1:31 PM

Are there any Marxist economics programs in the United States?

The New School for Social Research, which houses among others Richard Wolff and Anwar Shaik, has the only graduate macroecon program I know of.

There are, of course, Marxist/Marxian economists and professors in the states and I would LOVE to read recommendations, but I’m looking for a program with either a stated focus on Marxist macroeconomic analysis or more than one tenured faculty member trained in Marxist analysis.

Interdisciplinary programs aren't appealing and I would prefer an applied, activist or literary focus rather than theory (as Marx would have, I think).

NOTE: I’ve been all over this previous related post.

Thank you in advance.

posted by willie11 to Education (8 answers total)

The University of Massachusetts economics department is pretty Marxist-friendly. Lots of Marxist courses on offer, e.g. Marxian Economics, Advanced Topics in Political Economy: Marxist Crisis Theory, The Political Economy of Capitalism and Socialism, Socialist Economies.
posted by jedicus at 1:46 PM on March 6, 2011

From Wikipedia: Utah, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, The New School, and Colorado State offer one or more econ courses taught from a Marxist perspective. Those may be worth looking into as an initial starting point.
posted by J. Wilson at 2:27 PM on March 6, 2011

Best answer: I had a class with Richard Wolff while I did my masters at The New School, and from what he complained about on a regular basis, there aren't any programs that house more than one or two economists who aren't of the Neoclassical or Keynesian persuasion. Wolff loves to talk about this though, so if you look up his contact, he would probably respond with more advice. Feel free to send me a message on here if you want more info.
posted by msk1985 at 2:55 PM on March 6, 2011

Seconding UMass Amherst's Econ department, which, has often been criticized for being a "haven for Marxists". (Search for UMass +Amherst +too +many +Marxists and see what I mean.)
posted by camyram at 3:17 PM on March 6, 2011

The University of Denver master program I think has a broader-than-neoclassical approach. Lots of the profs did their phds at The New School.
posted by ropeladder at 3:30 PM on March 6, 2011

It's not a grad program, but NYC's Brecht Forum regularly features classes on Marxist Economics.
posted by history is a weapon at 4:17 PM on March 6, 2011

Response by poster: msk1985: Richard Wolff is one of my favorites. I've loved his video lectures on the Crisis of Capitalism over the last few years. He was on faculty at UMass Amherst before going to the New School, I believe.
posted by willie11 at 7:55 PM on March 6, 2011

Yeah, he was at UMass Amherst before coming to the New School, but left for reasons none of us in the class could quite understand from what he implied. It seemed like the department made some major changes he was not happy about, so he left and joined his son (Max Wolff) at The New School. He teaches a lot of his classes through the Graduate Program of International Affairs (GPIA)/Milano School of Management, and his websites are maintained by an assistant through the GPIA department.
posted by msk1985 at 6:51 AM on March 10, 2011