This paper investigates certain dimensions of the term "political economy" with specific reference to its application in analyzing educational organizations. The first section reviews classical and modern formulations of political economy to show how modern political economists operate within a received paradigm embodying five basic…

Industrial capitalism has encroached on household production and women's family work. In a series of interviews with women in 1979, the importance of women's activities outside the household, yet within the infrastructures on which they relied for carrying on housework and child care, became evident. The concept of work would be expanded to…

Compares two books published in the middle 1970s--F. Jameson's "Marxism and Form" and R. Ohmann's "English in America" to show the distinction between the theorists and pedagogues on the academic literary left. (FL)

Discusses fundamental improvements with the new Soviet biology curriculum. Concludes that it is essential that the teacher have the correct ideological conviction and professional skills if the new curriculum is to work effectively. (RKM)

Offers the author's own assessment or perspective on the usefulness of Fredric Jameson's work to the field of composition studies. Discusses his work on postmodernism. Explores in more detail the "pedagogical" functions of art Jameson hints at in his postmodernism work. (TB)

Considers the social nature of language and applies it to the composition classroom. Demonstrates how the composition teacher's conception of language influences the student's position of power. Argues that the "democratic" use of language allows students from lower social classes to appropriate language and to make changes which will…

Reports on a study that evaluates sociology textbooks both in commercial terms and for what they say about the assumptions sociologists make concerning the world. Provides a Marxist-feminist critique of sociology textbooks. Concludes that most sociology instructors continue to adopt the fairly standard assumptions of the discipline. (KO)

Questions assumptions of the New Historicism, a recent development in literary criticism. Suggests some problems that such an essentially political approach engenders. Includes lack of a common bond between author and reader, a universal model of historical change based upon the ideas of Marx and others, and contextualism. Argues that historians…

The idea of resistance (and empowerment) in critical pedagogy is rooted in traditional notions of Marxist vanguard politics that consider the trade-unionized white male working class as the entitled leaders of the revolutionary movement. Marxism fosters a theory and practice of elitist leadership notions that is replicated among contemporary…

Presents a historical survey of the dialectic, a heuristic device which enables teachers, researchers, and students to transform hierarchies of relations regarding class, race, and gender. The article discusses Hegel, Marx, and Engels, and presents a critique of misperceptions of the dialectic and an analysis of the laws of dialectics. (SM)

Reviews three books that critique and compare the ideas of Gramsci and Freire: "Revolutionary Social Transformation: Democratic Hopes, Political Possibilities and Critical Education" (Paula Allman); "Radical Heroes: Gramsci, Freire and the Politics of Adult Education" (Diana Coben); and "Gramsci, Freire and Adult…

This volume is part of a series of monographs from Australia devoted to outlining an alternative approach, based on neo-Marxist concepts, to educational administration. The opening essay examines the historical development of liberalism as a key to understanding the relations between the state, civil society, and the economy, and the development…

This volume is part of a series of monographs from Australia devoted to outlining an alternative approach, based on neo-Marxist concepts, to policy studies in education. The opening essay in this volume is a historical analysis of federal involvement in Australian educational policy development. After a descriptive overview of the role of…

Neo-marxist theory provides a better tool for educational researchers than other research methodologies because of its focus on empowering the dispossessed and its interest in the relationships between human activity and material circumstances. Traditional educational research is rooted in the positivist tradition and claims to be value neutral…