What you'll learn:
Lecture 1: What do we mean by fascism?
Definitions are slippery and even fascists themselves reject the label. This opening lecture explores the recurring features of fascist movements and asks how we recognise them in our own time.
Lecture 2: Fascism as the outcome of capitalist crisis
Drawing on Trotsky, Clara Zetkin and Georgi Dimitrov, this lecture examines how fascism rises from economic crisis and the defeat of working-class movements, serving the interests of capital.
Lecture 3: Fascism and Imperialism
From W.E.B. Du Bois to Aimé Césaire and George Padmore, this lecture follows thinkers who understood European fascism as colonial violence coming home — and argued that fighting fascism means fighting empire.
Lecture 4: What does fascism feel like?
How does fascism shape everyday life? This lecture looks at state violence, the shifting figures of the 'enemy', the pull of anti-democratic feeling, and the relationship between street movements and the state.
Lecture 5: Fascism and online worlds
The far right were early adopters of online life. This lecture explores how memes, masculinity, fitness content and coded language draw people in, and how fascist ideas spread through culture rather than parties.
Lecture 6: Modes of antifascist politics
Beyond reacting to far-right mobilisations, what might an antifascism of the everyday look like? This lecture asks how we build collective freedom and defend our communities in frightening times.