Courses

Upcoming Courses

11
August2026
Capitalist Incarceration and the Fight for FreedomMass Incarceration remains both widely criticized and narrowly understood. People sometimes confuse jails and prisons. Many falsely believe private prisons outnumber state facilities, embracing a theory of mass incarcerations as a conspiracy for profits and a simple continuation of chattel slavery. Is mass incarceration reducible to capitalism, racism, or settler colonialism? If so, why didn’t mass incarceration form in other racist, settler-colonial, capitalist countries? This course will clarify the historical and contemporary relationship between Mass Incarceration and U.S. Imperialism in order to answer the question: “How do we abolish prisons, really?” Through a rigorous study of the historical origins and contemporary function of mass incarceration, we will discuss how to move beyond mere utopian demands toward a scientific materialist analysis that traces the “line of march” out of the true history of mass incarceration. 

Primary Instructor: Dr. Steven Powers
Guest Instructors: Dr. Cedric Johnson, Dr. Marie Gottschalk, and Hirma Rivera
6-Week
Online
CourseDetails to enroll coming soon!

Previous Courses

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26
May2026



Race, Class, and EmpireThe intertwined development of capitalism, white supremacy, and imperialism shaped the modern world, but the question of how they interrelate remains hotly contested. Did capitalism produce white supremacy, or was white supremacy a precondition of capitalism’s development? Did colonialism give rise to capitalism, or did capitalism induce colonial expansion? In this course, we will read primary source texts alongside works of historical scholarship and cutting-edge contemporary theory to clarify the relationship between race, class, and imperialism.

Primary Instructor: Timour Kamran
Guest Instructors: Charisse Burden-Stelly, John Harfouch, Ali Kadri
6-Week
Online
Course
21
January2026
Imperialism, Underdevelopment, and Rational PlanningThis six-week intensive course explores theories of imperialism, underdevelopment, and alternative futures through philosophy, social theory, and political economy. Emphasizing the perspectives of the Global South, we will examine diverse thinkers and activists in order to address the challenges of overcoming underdevelopment and of constructing a sustainable and equitable future.

Primary Instructor: Jared Bly
Guest Instructors: Immanuel Ness, Larry Allen Busk, Zeyad El Nabolsy, Gabriel Rockhill
6-Week
Online
Course