Give Theory A Chance

In this episode we speak to Jeffrey Montez de Oca an Associate Professor of Sociology and the founding director of the Center for the Critical Study of Sport at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Montez de Oca shares tales from his circuitous path to Marxism and reflects on how he came to realize that Karl Marx provides the tools necessary to help us understand the alienation and inequalities brought about by capitalism.

In this episode we are joined by Douglas Hartmann, Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota. We discuss how discovering C.L.R. James shaped Hartmann’s understandings of race and resistance. In particular, Hartmann reflects on how James memoir on cricket provides a valuable resource for understanding sports and politics.