Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2025 - HIST 463W D100

Rebellion and Revolution: Topics in the Theory and Practice of Resistance (4)

Theory Practice Resistance

Class Number: 2930

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 12 – Aug 8, 2025: Wed, 9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units including nine units of lower division history.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Explores ideas, people, and movements of social criticism and social justice, stressing history as a way to understand and engage the present. Content may vary from offering to offering; see course outline for further information. HIST 463W may be repeated for credit only when a different topic is taught. Students with credit for HIST 412 or HIST 412W cannot take HIST 463W for further credit when offered with the course topic "Marxism." Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

“The Enshittification of Everything: An Introduction to the Ideas of Marx and Some Marxists”

The writer Cory Doctorow coined the word “enshittification” to describe the degradation of online platforms over time. He’s added “enshittification is coming for absolutely everything.”

While Doctorow came up with the word, Karl Marx outlined the process and its causes more than 150 years ago.

Marx’s insights are important today as we face economic collapse, environmental disaster, and great inequality. In this course we’ll examine Marxist ideas on capitalism, the state, class, gender, race, and the destruction of the environment. We’ll talk about how to change things.

I won’t lie to you. Some of the reading is difficult. But we’ll take our time with it; we’re here to discover and uncover ideas, especially your own. The emphasis will be on what you notice and are curious about.

Grading

  • Short, informal written responses to course materials (lectures, readings, discussions) and active attendance 100%

NOTES:

There are no exams and no research papers.

Got questions? Email me, Mark Leier, at leier@sfu.ca

Academic Integrity: Capitalism puts great pressure on us to “succeed” and “win” by whatever means necessary. This often does great harm to ourselves and to others. We’ll talk about this.

Anything below this line is a requirement put there by university administrators, not the instructor.

REQUIREMENTS:

Official prerequisites: 45 units including nine units of lower division history. If you don’t have these, it may be possible to take the course with the instructor’s permission. Email me.

Unofficial prerequisites: 1) Curiosity. If you’re not interested, why waste your time for 13 weeks?

2) Time. If you don’t have time to read and come to class, it will be hard to do well.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Materials:

  • Corinne Maier and Anne Simon, Marx, Freud, Einstein. This is a graphic novel. We're only going to read the Marx part. But it's important and it's the first thing we will read.
  • Helen Razer,Total Propaganda: Basic Marxist Brainwashing for the Angry and the Young. Not very long, informal, even rude, with a lot of F-bombs.
  • Hadas Thier, A People's Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics. This can get heavy in places, but that’s why we’re working through it together.
  • Material in Canvas

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.