SOCI 125. Race, Class, and The Political Economy of Racial Capitalism

The concept and phrasing of Racial Capitalism has gained a lot of attention among scholars and activists recently. This is partly due to the proliferation of race-centered social justice movements, such as Black Lives Matter, but also to realization that capitalism is inherently intertwined with racism. This course aims to illuminate the interconnections between race and class through the works of scholars who made such a connection the centerpiece of their analysis, such as W.E.B DuBois’s Black Reconstruction, C.L.R. James’ Black Jacobins, Franz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth and Bernard Magubane’s The Political Economy of Race and Class in South Africa, among others. We will also study the promise and the perils of the concept of Racial Capitalism, which originated in South Africa at the height of apartheid, but which now is most closely associated with the work of American political scientist Cedric Robinson, as deployed in his increasingly Popular Black Marxism.”
Prerequisite: Previous course with professor Rangel.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Spring 2026. Rangel.
Catalog chapter: Sociology and Anthropology
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sociology-anthropology

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