Fall 2021 Reading Groups
Background: In Fall 2021, Metro DC DSA is excited to host 8 sections of 7 different reading groups—and we’d love for you to join one! If you are interested in signing up for one or have already signed up and want to transfer groups or disenroll, click here. Reading groups provide an opportunity to share learning and political education in a group setting, allowing members’ organizing and knowledge to develop alongside comrades.
Reading group meetings will be held virtually, though many groups have scheduled in-person social meet ups. All meetings will be held in the evenings. No experience or knowledge is necessary before entering any group and all readings will be made available online for free!
“Capital in the Capital (Sundays and Tuesdays): The Capital in the Capital reading group features 2 sections on Karl Marx’s Capital Volume 1. The group will cover the foundations of Marxist thought, moving through chapters in Marx with the help of optional supplementary materials and a structure generated from other reading groups’ past experiences. Sections will be held on both Sunday nights and Tuesday nights in Fall 2021, with the first Tuesday meeting scheduled for August 31st and the first Sunday meeting scheduled for August 29th. More information is available here for Sundays and here for Tuesdays.
Black Radical Tradition (Tuesdays): The Black Radical Tradition reading group will explore texts in the Black Radical Tradition in relationship to socialism and abolitionist organizing. The reading group is sponsored by the AfroSOC section of Metro DC DSA. The section will be held on Tuesday nights in Fall 2021, with the first meeting scheduled for September 14th. The core reading will be Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur.
Palestine and Socialism (Thursdays): The Palestine and Socialism reading group will focus on the connection between the struggle for Palestinian liberation and socialism. The reading group is sponsored by the AfroSOC section of Metro DC DSA. The section will be held biweekly on Thursday nights in Fall 2021, with the first meeting scheduled for September 9th. The core reading will be Palestine: A Socialist Introduction, written and edited by Sumaya Awad, a DSA member, and brian bean, with chapter contributions from several DSA members and other members of the Palestine solidarity movement. More information is available here.
Capitalism and the State (Tuesdays): The Capitalism and the State Reading Group will read and discuss texts on state theory and connect them to knowledge acquired through workplace experience, organizing, and advocacy. Given its base in the DC area, the Reading Group hopes to draw on government workers and others in the region with experience interacting with government. The group will meet ~biweekly on Tuesday nights in Fall 2021 and the first meeting is scheduled for August 31st. The reading group may feature guest lectures or panels with group members. Core readings are Golden Gulag by Ruth Wilson Gilmore and The 18th Brumaire by Karl Marx, and more information is here.
Technology and Marxism (Mondays): The Technology and Marxism reading group will read through texts on the relationship between technology and capitalism, with an emphasis on how digital capitalism and surveillance technology impact labor and shape our lived environments. The group welcomes technology workers, people affected by new technology, and those trying to build a better world — with or without technology. The group will meet ~biweekly on Monday nights in Fall 2021 and the first meeting is scheduled for September 16th. The core reading will be Breaking Things at Work by Gavin Mueller and more information is here.
Socialist Feminist (Thursdays): The Socialist Feminist reading group will read texts in the socialist feminist tradition, exploring how gender difference facilitates capital accumulation. The Socialist Feminist reading group is sponsored by the SocFem section of Metro DC DSA. The group will meet ~biweekly on Thursday nights in Fall 2021, and the first meeting is scheduled for September 16th. The core reading is Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis.
Rosa Luxemburg (Tuesdays): The Rosa Luxemburg reading group will read through the biography and notable texts of legendary socialist Rosa Luxemburg. The group will meet on Tuesdays this fall, with the first meeting scheduled for August 31st. The core reading will be Red Rosa by Kate Evans and more information is here.