On the 170th anniversary of the publication of The Communist Manifesto, Linscheid Library Academic Friends and ECU SCREENS are hosting “The Spectre of Marx: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Marxism, Its Origins, and Its Ghostly Presence in Our Contemporary World.”
At 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, the conference will begin with a series of presentations by six ECU faculty who will discuss Marx and his legacy from the perspective of the humanities, philosophy, history, legal studies, economics and Russian studies.
At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21, the conference will conclude with a screening of the new comedy “Young Marx,” recorded live at the new Bridge Theatre in London.
All conference events will be held in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center of the Bill S. Cole University Center. Faculty presentations will be free and open to the public. General admission tickets to “Young Marx” are $10. Admission is free for ECU students.
The first conference session, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, will feature Dr. Joshua Grasso and Dr. Jennifer McMahon, professors in the Department of English and Languages and Dr. Greg Sutton, assistant professor in the Department of History and Native Studies.
The second conference session, beginning at 11 a.m., will feature Dr. Preston Draper, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and Legal Studies; Dr. Michael Scott, professor in the Department of Business Administration; and Dr. Mara Sukholutskaya, professor in the Department of English and Languages and Director of Russian Studies and ECU’s Global Studies Program.
Both sessions will include time for questions.
Before the screening on Wednesday, ECU students who have submitted essays and works of art relevant to the conference’s theme will be on hand to answer questions about their work.
In the interval between the first and second acts of “Young Marx,” awards for outstanding student submissions to the conference will be announced and free ice cream will be offered to all audience members.
Starring Rory Kinnear as Marx and Oliver Chris as his best friend, Friedrich Engels, “Young Marx” spins into action in 1850, when Europe’s most feared terrorist is hiding in Dean Street, Soho. Broke, restless and mischievous, the 32-year-old leftist revolutionary is a frothing combination of intellectual brilliance, invective, satiric wit, and child-like emotional illiteracy. Creditors, spies, rival revolutionary factions and prospective seducers of his beautiful wife all circle like vultures. With hiis writing blocked, his marriage dying, his friend Engels in despair at his wasted genius, his only hope is a job on the railway.
But there’s still no one in London who can show you a better night on the town than Karl Heinrich Marx.
Running time for “Young Marx” is 160 minutes, and it is rated “R” due to strong language.
“Young Marx” is presented by ECU SCREENS, whose mission is to bring memorable cinematic experiences to ECU, Ada, and the surrounding communities. ECU SCREENS is supported by the ECU Foundation, the Cultural Activities Committee, and the Department of English and Languages, and it relies on work provided by student volunteers from Sigma Tau Delta (ECU’s English Honors Society) and ECU’s Honors Student Association.
To learn more about ECU SCREENS and the spring schedule, like the ECU SCREENS Facebook page or visit ecuscreens.blogspot.com. Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir, co-director of ECU SCREENS, may be contacted at (580) 559-5929 or rnichlsn@ecok.edu.
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