“Does Marx Still Matter?” is focus of annual philosophy conference at Lewis University

“Does Marx Still Matter?” is the theme for Lewis University’s 16th annual philosophy conference Feb. 24-25 in the Sancta Alberta Chapel located on the University’s main campus in Romeoville. The annual philosophy conference focuses on a different theme each year, alternating between historical and contemporary figures. “Does Marx Still Matter?” will address the question of Karl Marx’s relevance to today’s world. Key topics to be explored are Marxist humanism, alternatives to capitalism, human suffering and technology. Seven of the nine events will have a moderator, speaker and respondent.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. on Feb. 24 followed by opening remarks at 9:25 a.m. from Elizabeth Hoppe, conference director and associate professor of philosophy at Lewis University. The first presentation, “A Materialism Worth Suffering: Marx on the Living and the Dead in Us” will be delivered by Asma Abbas, associate professor of politics and philosophy at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, at 9:30 a.m. where attention will be drawn to the imperatives imposed on sufferers within contemporary liberal capitalism. At 11 a.m., Ellen Cox, associate professor of philosophy at Transylvania University, will present “Ideology Critiques Matter: Fat Studies and the Politics of Obesity.” Cox will argue that the emerging field of fat studies engages in an ideology critique of body size and pathology.

At 2 p.m. on Feb. 24, David Schweickart, professor of philosophy at Loyola University, will explore the question of whether or not the pace of innovations has begun to slow down or even become downright destructive during his presentation entitled “What is Marxism, Anyway?” Keynote speaker Bill Martin, professor of philosophy at DePaul University, aims to answer the question that frames the conference during his “Karl Marx, Karl Marx, What Do You See?” address at 4 p.m. on Feb. 24. His investigations, rooted in the present and directed toward the future, will be into areas of life and social existence that are clearly important but that are at the same time unrelated.

The events of Feb. 25 include “Premature Autopsies” at 9 a.m., where Hoppe will read Olúfémi Táíwò’s paper on the bright future of Marxism in relation to globalization, alienation, immiserization and future society. Táíwò is the director of the global African studies program and professor of philosophy and global African studies at Seattle University. At 10 a.m., Marilyn Nissim-Sabat, professor emeritus of philosophy at Lewis University, expresses that Marxism and psychoanalysis share a perspective on human life, both individual and social, that must be the leading edge in any movement towards radical, progressive change as she reads her paper entitled “Marxism and Psychoanalysis: The Humanist Alternative.”

Andrew Rock, Lewis University political science major, will present “Reconstructing Communism: The Success of True Communism” at 11 a.m. explaining how Karl Marx sought to take power away from elites and give it to the workers. Rock will discuss how the applied ideas of Marx have resulted in vibrant communities that improved the lives of the people that choose to live in them.

“Social Justice and the Online Alienation, or Recipes for a New Vocabulary of Common Good” will take place at 1 p.m. on Feb. 25 as Dana Neascu, reference librarian and lecturer-in-law at Columbia University, continues an older debate about the obstacles social justice narratives have encountered from a culture of material indulgence, and add a new dimension of indefinite intangible desires. At 2 p.m., Peter Hudis, philosophy instructor at Lewis University and Loyola University, challenges the assumption that Marx wrote nothing about the alternative to capitalism as he discusses the ways in which his body of work addresses alternative to value production, alienated labor and the statist authoritarianism in his paper, “Marx’s Concept of the Alternative to Capitalism.”

Sponsored by the Philosophy Department, the conference is also being presented as part of the Arts & Ideas Program, providing cultural and educational programming for students and the community. For more information, please contact Dr. Elizabeth Hoppe, conference director and associate professor of philosophy at Lewis University, either via email at HoppeEl@lewisu.edu or by telephone at (815) 836-5312.

Lewis University is a Catholic university offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 6,000 traditional and adult students. Lewis offers multiple campus locations, online degree programs, and a variety of formats that provide accessibility and convenience to a growing student population. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis prepares ethically grounded, globally aware, and socially responsible graduates. The ninth largest private not-for-profit university in Illinois, Lewis has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. Visit www.lewisu.edu for further information.