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The making of black and white working class in Liverpool (IEEL037)

This module will introduce a number of selected case studies which showcase the makings of class and racial dynamics in modern Liverpool. The module means to use a post-colonial analysis of critical Atlanticist theory, specifically racial capitalism, to explore how class was formed through racial lines in the city and how these distinctions have impacted working class histories within the city.

Our discussions will focus on events such as the Toxteth Uprising, the Militant Council, the 1990s dockworkers strike, the 1911 Liverpool general transport strike, the deportation of Chinese workers and the history of slavery to explore intra-working class relations, trade unionism and the impact of racialism on not just bourgeois/proletariat relations but also amongst differences of worker organisations and the ideologies they represent. An analysis of intersectionality and class will thus be the primary point of exploration in the city.

Module leader: Sam Glasper

Sam is a PhD student and teaching assistant at the University of Liverpool, whose project involves investigating neoliberalism, racial capitalism, and whiteness in the Grenfell fire disaster. Sam’s previous work involved a special research project on left wing squadist responses to the National Front and a published dissertation on armed struggle student groups in West Germany and the USA.

Aims

  • To develop confidence in understanding and communicating complex ideas in written language
  • To develop skills in research and collaborative learning
  • To provide students with a knowledge of critical theory and how to analyse dynamics of class and race in modern political history, using an international theory of the political economy and its relation from First the Third World.

Content

The module syllabus will cover knowledge from the history of Liverpool history, ideas of class and race, the creation of militancy in politics and the radicalism of left-wing groups. Concepts will be illustrated with case studies and engaging with the site visits to enable students to understand the issues in the questions.

Structure

The module will be delivered over a three-week period in six two-hour sessions (four hours per week, total of 12 hours of teaching time).

Five sessions will consist of lecture-style sessions interspersed with case study material to enable group discussions. The Module Leader will introduce and teach the core ideas and concepts for the session before engaging the students in collaborative learning time through discussions with the class. Students will be expected to participate fully and actively throughout the sessions, undertaking prior reading and research where necessary to enable them to have adequate knowledge and examples to enable them to participate during the teaching time.

In addition, we will arrange one session as a site visit to the Trans-Atlantic slaver trade museum. It is expected that students will spend 38 study hours outside of the classroom contact hours on activities, including assigned reading, an optional reading of areas of personal interest, homework tasks, online research and preparation for assessment. Students should be aware that to benefit from the face-to-face classroom sessions fully, the preparation work assigned should have been done prior to the lecture.

The indicative schedule is as follows:

Session one: What is racial capitalism and how does it ferment itself in modern society?

The first session will be an introduction into the theory of racial capitalism. A brief analysis of Cedric Robinson’s work as well as some others will be brought to attention and given in context to the students. A presentation shall be given alongside some questions of various examples of how racial capitalism finds itself to exist in the current age.

Session two: The Toxteth Uprising: policing, race, and rebellion in modern Britain

The first introduction to Liverpool’s history shall be given in the form of a wider context of policing in Britain alongside the response to the SUS laws in Britain. In order to do this, an analysis of the Toxteth Uprising shall be given which denotes wider issues such as race, working class uprisings, police brutality and the state and its relationship to its citizens.

Session three: The militant tendency in Liverpool: responses to race and class wars

Bringing out more of Liverpool’s history, an analysis seeks to be given on the history of the Militant Council and its time running Liverpool often set against the Thatcher government. The Trotskyist group’s time in power will be ran alongside its relationship to the Black Caucus who attempted to campaign against racism and colour-blind politics in the city.

Session four: The union strikes back: workers strikes and union and state responses to the challenges of organised labour

A history of Liverpool’s union struggles means to be presented by looking at the relationship with not only organised labour and the government but also the unions relationship with non-white citizens in Liverpool. This an explanation means to be made on the notion of militancy and scab politics in the imperial core and how bribery and government repression went against a number of mixed strikes of mixed workers.

Session five: The trans-Atlantic slave trade: An Afro-pessimist study of the slave trade political economy in Liverpool

This will be the visit session of the module with a trip to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade museum. The tour will co-exist with a study on Afro pessimism, a lens of interpretation that accounts for civil society's dependence on anti-black violence—a regime of violence that positions black people as internal enemies of civil society. Thus, the violence of the slave trade and its economic foundations will be studied as part of a process of the libidinal economy of social death.

Session six: Politics in command: A study on the differences between reformism, economism and revolution in whiteness and blackness

The final session will outline the notions of the labour aristocracy in the western world and how it relates to the politics of whiteness and economism. This will be set against the struggles of non-whites in the imperial core and how these ferment the most revolutionary struggles in not just Liverpool and the UK but all of Euro-America.

Teaching methods

The teaching approach will include the following:

  • Taught sessions
  • Group discussions
  • Workshops
  • Site visit.

Assessment

Assessment will be by:

  • Written essay/reflection of 1000-1200 words (worth 100% of the overall mark)

Standard University policies apply with regard to late submission of assessments.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students will be able to:

  • Understand and communicate complex ideas in written language
  • Research a topic and work to present ideas in academic suitable style, including the appropriate use of reference and source material
  • Analyse socio-political events, factors and causes using the framework of critical theory with a particular understanding of how class and race fuels modern political conflict.

Skills

Key skills that will be developed:

  • Critical analysis and evaluation, developed through a distinct look at core reading materials and in-class discussion, and through looking at the chosen case studies and examples analysis shall develop pedagogically with students and teachers learning from each other given the international breadth
  • Communication skills, developed orally in class discussions, activities, and debate in class; written skills via completion of written assignment
  • The ability to research, source and examine information thoroughly
  • Intellectual independence and autonomy
  • The ability to assess case studies and make conclusions from them.

Books, ebooks and websites

The University Library website provides access to many relevant books and electronic books, as well as academic journals and databases.

  • Jefferson, M (1993) - The Toxteth riots: A select bibliography. Liverpool Law Review volume 5, pages 203–218
  • Bonnett, A - How the British Working Class Became White: The Symbolic (Re)formation of Racialized Capitalism. Journal of Historical Sociology Vol 11 No 3 September 1998
  • J. Moufawad-Paul (2022) – Politics in Command: A Taxonomy of Economism, Chapter 3 – Economism and the Labour Aristocracy pages 104-126, Foreign Languages Press
  • Moody, J (2020) - The persistence of memory: Black Liverpool: Living with the Legacy of the Past. Liverpool University Press
  • Darlington, R - Workplace Union Militancy on Merseyside since the 1960s: Extent, Nature, Causes, and Decline, HSIR 19 (Spring 2005) 123-153.