Marx Now

Marx Now © DanMohr / yesisaid.com

What is still interesting about Karl Marx 200 years after his birth? Why do people on both sides of the Atlantic read the works of this old philosopher of economics? And what can we learn from Marx today?
  
The Goethe-Institut in North America asked around for interesting perspectives on Marx and came across all sorts of things worth seeing and hearing. We asked public figures in science, politics and culture to read their favorite Marx texts, select the best Marx films and put together a playlist of revolutionary music. Rediscover Karl Marx with us and join the discussion!


Experts Read Marx

For “Reading Marx/Marx Lesen”, the Goethe-Institut has asked people in various cities in North America and Germany to select and read short quotations from Marx and to explain why these texts are still relevant today. The result is a kaleidoscope of voices that raise the key issues of our time and seek their solutions. We were surprised ourselves by what Marx has to say!

Alexei Tsvetkov © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Moscow
Alexei Tsvetkov reads from “Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right”

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© Goethe-Institut e.V.

North America
Marx Now Promo

Wassily Kusnezov © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Moscow
Marx Now: Wassily Kusnezov on his favorite Marx quote “Ignorance is a demonic force”

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Dmitri Gutov © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Moscow
Dmitry Gutov reads from “Outlines of the Critique of Political Economy”

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Anna Gor © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Moscow
Anna Gor reads from “The Communist Manifesto”

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Naum Kleimann © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Moscow
Naum Kleimann on fairy tales Marx told to his daughters

Ajay Singh Chaudhary © Goethe-Institut e.V.

New York
Ajay Singh Chaudhary reads from “Capital”

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Alejandro Murguia © Goethe-Institut e.V.

San Francisco
Alejandro Murguia reads from “Capital”

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Sigrid Weigel © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Berlin
Sigrid Weigel reads from “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon”

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Mary Myers © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Washington
Mary Myers on her favorite Marx quote “Doubt everything”

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Michael Cohen © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Berkeley
Michael Cohen reads from “Capital”

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Tanya Paperny © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Washington
Tanya Paperny reads from “Reflections of a Young Man (on The Choice of a Profession)”

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Vanessa Wills © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Washington
Vanessa Wills on her favorite Marx quote from “The German Ideology”

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Michael Blum © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Montréal
Michael Blum reads from “The Communist Manifesto”

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Albert Scharenberg © Goethe-Institut e.V.

New York
Albert Scharenberg reads from “Capital”

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John Feffer © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Washington
John Feffer reads from “German Ideology”

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Norman Birnbaum © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Washington
Norman Birnbaum on Marx as a “moral prophet”

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Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz reads from “Capital” © Goethe-Institut e.V.

San Francisco
Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz reads from “Capital”

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Susanna Hecht © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Los Angeles
Susanna Hecht reads from “The Communist Manifesto”

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Ben Tarnoff © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Boston
Ben Tarnoff reads from “Capital”

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Eric Santner © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Chicago
Eric Santner reads from “Capital”

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Ritu Birla © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Toronto
Ritu Birla reads from “Capital”

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Sina Rahmani © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Los Angeles
Sina Rahmani on the “Theses on Feuerbach”

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Jennifer Dorothy Lee Chicago

Chicago
Jennifer Dorothy Lee reads from the “Economic and philosophic Manuscripts of 1844”

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Chris Garlock © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Washington
Chris Garlock on his favorite Marx quote: “Workers of the world, unite!”

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Jürgen Kocka © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Berlin
Jürgen Kocka reads from „The Communist Manifesto“

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Zachary Cahill liest aus „Das Kapital“ © Goethe-Institut e.V.

Chicago
Zachary Cahill reads from“Capital”

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Films on Marx

Films on Marx

The oeuvre of films on Karl Marx is fairly accessible and easy to bundle into a series. It encompasses numerous feature films and documentaries that merely reference Marx or that focus solely on him.

Film list

Multimedia experience “Dictionary of Marx”

On May 5th, 2018, Marx’s 200th birthday, the one-time-only multimedia experience, Dictionary of Marx, gave the chance to reencounter the work of the German economic philosopher Karl Marx. A dozen of Washington, DC’s most engaging presenter-performers came together at the Capital Fringe Theatre responding to key words from the Marxist lexicon in a series of artistic interpretations. From theater performances to musical works and from film to poetry, Dictionary of Marx explored these economic theories from today’s perspective. The viewer also had the chance to engage directly, whether in a creative writing workshop, a game of Anti-Monopoly, or a philosophic discussion at the bar.

Presented as part of the Goethe-Institut’s international series Marx Now, Dictionary of Marx was curated by John Feffer, novelist, playwright, and director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.

You can find the respective performance at the indicated time code:
Alienation, Regie Cabico (00:01:08)
History, Vanessa Wills (00:09:47)
Human Rights, Vincent Thomas (00:17:42)
Labor, Creative Feds (Erica Ginsberg & Leon Gerskovic; not recorded)
Materialism, Natalia Gleason-Nagy (00:29:18)
Private Property, Sami Miranda (00:37:56)
Proletariat, Joe Uehlein (00:49:06)
Resistance, Nu Sass Productions (Mary Myers; 01:05:49)
Revolution, Edgar Endress (01:20:57)
Socialism, Michael Kazin (01:30:37)
Utopia, Tanya Paperny (01:39:38)
Workers, Kiley Kraskouskas (Not Recorded)

Musicians for the event
Elena & Los Fulanos
Magpie
Maykas

Revolution in Music

New Texts on Marx

The Goethe-Institut in North America is not alone in commemorating Marx’s 200th birthday – the anniversary has motivated a discussion of Marx and his theories on many levels among the Goethe-Institut wolrldwide. Here you will find a selection of articles on this topic.




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