In this episode of Coming From Left Field, philosopher and cultural critic Gabriel Rockhill joins us to discuss “Requiem for French Theory: Transatlantic Funeral Dirge in a Marxist Key,” his new book co-written with Aymeric Monville. Rockhill examines how postwar French Theory—associated with thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze, and others—was received, promoted, and institutionalized in the United States during the Cold War. He argues that the rise of postmodern and poststructuralist approaches often displaced class analysis, historical materialism, anti-imperialism, and practical socialist politics in favor of a focus on discourse, difference, and anti-totalitarianism.
The conversation also explores the Ford Foundation, the 1966 Johns Hopkins conference often cited as a launching point for French Theory in the United States, Cold War cultural politics, and the wider political economy of academic knowledge production. Rockhill argues for rebuilding a class-centered, internationalist Marxism and joins a thoughtful exchange on China, Vietnam, socialism, imperialism, inequality, and the challenges of assessing existing socialist projects without demonization or uncritical celebration.
About Gabriel Rockhill
Gabriel Rockhill is a philosopher, cultural critic, and professor of philosophy and global interdisciplinary studies at Villanova University. He founded the Critical Theory Workshop, an educational nonprofit established in 2008 that offers summer programs, courses, public discussions, book launches, and other forms of accessible critical education.
Rockhill’s research focuses on political philosophy, ideology, culture, intellectual history, the political economy of knowledge production, Marxism, and anti-imperialism. “Requiem for French Theory” and his previous book, “Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism?” are part of a larger effort to investigate how intellectual institutions shape political thought—and how Marxist theory can again connect to collective struggles for social transformation.
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Resources: Order the book: https://kingsbookstore.com/book/9781685901493
Webpage: https://gabrielrockhill.com/
Greg’s Substack: https://substack.com/@greggodels929536
Pat’s Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/
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