Introduction

Abstract

This introduction, coming out during the two hundredth anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, discusses the distinctiveness of Marxian anthropology and what it has to offer to our efforts at understanding, and confronting, the complexities of the social contradictions constituted by—and constitutive of—twenty-first century capitalism. The article points out common denominators of Marxian anthropology going back to Marx’s insights, but also offers a cursory social history of the diverse lineages of enquiry within Marxian anthropology, shaped by the relations and inequalities of the context in which they emerged. Finally, we discuss certain crucial fields of engagement in contemporary Marxian anthropology as reflected in this theme section’s contributions.

European social anthropology in 2018: an increasingly recursive public

“…The concept of labour has come to rapid prominence in recent years and, while some of this is driven by the left‐wing and Marxist currents that have shaped anthropology for decades, it is notable how much of the work on labour seems to come from other perspectives – and the degree to which a number of scholars advancing explicitly Marxian analyses seem to be cautioning against an unqualified embrace of the concept of labour (Robbins ; Weiss ). So while one might expect to see labour playing an important role in a special issue on ‘Marxism resurgent’ (Neveling and Steur ), it is notable to see the more staid Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (formerly known as Man ) hosting a special issue entitled ‘Dislocating labour: anthropological reconfigurations’ (Harvey and Krohn‐Hansen ). Whether this represents a radicalisation of the anthropological profession and its publics or a domestication of the concept of labour is more complex and beyond the scope of this review.…”

“…Nonetheless, others drawing from the Marxian tradition seem more reticent to embrace and expand the concept of labour. For instance, contributors to ‘Marxism resurgent’ seem keen to place more emphasis on how their understanding of labour is grounded in a particular kind of materialism (McCall Howard ; Murawski ; Neveling and Steur ). When labour is more directly at stake, the emphasis is still on forces like accumulation through dispossession (Morell ) and the limits of subaltern ‘autonomous political initiative’ (Ciavolella ).…”

Sinicization Innovation of Marxist Humanistic Theory in Colleges and Universities Under the Background of Innovative Thinking

“…Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the innovation of Marxism in China and the education of psychological logic. 4 , 5 …”

“…Therefore, it is necessary to carry out the innovation of Marxism in China and the education of psychological logic. 4,5 Based on the above situation, this paper designs a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) innovative thinking training teaching mode, trying to change the training mode of college students' innovative thinking. The research is carried out combined with the theoretical content of Marxist humanism.…”