Norbert Campagna;

In the run up to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx (in Trier) on 5 May 1818, the Cenre national de littérature in Mersch is organising a lecture on Marxism and literature on 3 May 2018 at 19:30.

Although Karl Marx did not write systematic literary works, there are several passages in his work in which he deals with the discipline that he dropped in favour of philosophy and economics. These passages not only testify to Marx's interest in literature, but also locate literature in the global pattern of explanation that became known under the name of Marxism, and in which, according to Marx, many other authors built upon.

Starting from a synthesis of the basic ideas of Marx's historically dialectical materialism, three questions are addressed in this lecture: (1) To what extent can literature be said to be a reflection of reality? (2) To what extent can those in a particular period produce an appeal that cuts across time? and (3) What is the historical role and task of the writer to think?

The lecture will not be a meticulous exegesis of Marx's writings, but an attempt to reflect on Marx's literature and its place in an emancipatory practice that is more necessary today than ever before.

Heading the lecture will be Dr Norbert Campagna, an associate professor at the University of Luxembourg and lecturer at the LCE and the LGE. He has published 26 books, 40 scientific articles in philosophical journals and more than 120 essays and contributions in anthologies, files and manuals. He is co-editor of 4 books. For his work in the field of sexual ethics, he was awarded a Trophée de l'Éthique in Paris.

Admission is free.