Course of Marxism..

During the course of Marxism, I have learned a great deal about Karl Marx. The fact that Marx was determined to fight despite the many obstacles he faced, against oppression and exploitation, and seeing socialism as the only means of liberation, was very impressive. The most compelling aspect of what I studied was the ability to interpret various readings, and short films from a Marxist point of view. Allowing room for another opinion besides my own, gave me a better understanding of the text. The classic story/movie, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is one example, where I was able to discover a different meaning, other than my own. The least interesting from the course of Marxism, were the challenging readings that I sometimes slogged my way through, to understand the message the author presented to the reader. I also learned the different elements Marxist readings consist of, and what a Marxist may look for when examining a piece of literature. Such as examples of social class, differences between the dominant group and subordinate group, if there are any. What type of people belonged to these groupings. How the dominate group maintains their power over the subordinate group. A Marxist reading may also entail the characteristics of what is accepted in these two groups. The concept of Hegemony was also new to me. Discovering the definition for the word; the ideologies created by the dominant group, that the subordinate group follows, I realized that this concept is still practiced today. I made connections between the concept of hegemony and how it is going on in Cuba, by a selfish ruler, who establishes rules that his country has to follow. The course of Marxism taught me a different approach that is useful when analyzing literature. Often, I find myself looking for at least one of the elements, mentioned above in the readings I come across.