Welcome to the website of Dr Brian McGrail, covering my personal blogs, reviews of books I am reading, and some open educational resources (OERs) related to courses I have taught in ‘open studies’, mainly on the critique of political economy (CPE) and utopianism. I have taught social sciences in UK higher education since 1992, with an interest in adult returner education and widening participation.
Latest from Articles and Blogs
- Trump’s Trade Deals with History
‘Make America Great Again’ – the slogan oozes with nostalgia. Its central motif is not “back to the future” but, rather, “forward to the past”. But, this leaves the suspended question of: whatever happened to the (‘our’ / ‘anyones’ /… Read more: Trump’s Trade Deals with History - Racism and Fire: Capitalism’s Role in the Persistence of Race
October is Black History Month, and both of my institutional employers have emailed me with offers of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training as part of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), though not mandatory sessions. Edinburgh University led the way (1st… Read more: Racism and Fire: Capitalism’s Role in the Persistence of Race - “Fascism” and the Myth of a Good Capitalism
With the rise of contemporary authoritarian regimes (including those of Duterte, Bolsonaro, Orbán, and Erdoğan) in notional, or prior, ‘liberal democracies’ and especially with the revival of Trump in the US, the term ‘Fascist’ has become a popular and widely… Read more: “Fascism” and the Myth of a Good Capitalism - History produces nothing but Barbarism
In a recent video interview for publisher Unherd, Yanis Varoufakis asked the question: “Why is the Left the loser of history?’ He went on to argue that the Left failed to “take its opportunity” in the wake of the crisis… Read more: History produces nothing but Barbarism - Marx’s Anarchism and the Politics of Capitalism
On the relevance of Marx in times of ‘Zombie Capitalism?’ Studying an author hermeneutically refers to understanding a writer by standing in their shoes and seeing the world from their perspective. Studying political writings in such a manner was advanced… Read more: Marx’s Anarchism and the Politics of Capitalism - AI? The Technology of Small Boat Vagabondage
In 16th century England laws were enacted to prevent dispossessed peasants from roaming the countryside and pouring into town centres. Rules against beggars were enforced using draconian measures such as cutting or branding miscreants, and deporting them to their place… Read more: AI? The Technology of Small Boat Vagabondage - On Becoming a Critical Thinker?
There are many courses within higher education (HE) which claim to turn students into “critical thinkers”. The focus is on skills and techniques students can learn, adopt, or adapt such that they “become” a critical thinker, as if such a… Read more: On Becoming a Critical Thinker? - Why place a baby in an oven?
It seems inconceivable that anyone would put a baby in an oven, let alone one still alive. Yet, this was a claim made in relation to the Hamas-led terror attack on Israel between 7th and 9th October 2023. Leading Zionist… Read more: Why place a baby in an oven? - Affliction of the Grade-seeking Student
How might students behave if grades and marks are removed from their course assignments, yet they are still able to obtain the necessary credits for ‘progression’ to the next level in education? Would their approach to learning, or their ‘philosophy’… Read more: Affliction of the Grade-seeking Student - AI? Aye, aye! Hyperbolic claims from Snooze-inducing Technologists
We’ve heard it all before. A new technology is going to ‘revolutionise’ everything, from the way we work to the way we play, learn, and relate. Yet, funnily enough, according to the ‘visionaries’, the basic social and political features of… Read more: AI? Aye, aye! Hyperbolic claims from Snooze-inducing Technologists - On the Scottish Origins of Social Science (Part 2)
[Opening Note: In line with comments made in Part 1, this text was originally intended for a foundation student audience and is written in a teaching (second person) style. For reasons of editorial convenience, I have left the text in… Read more: On the Scottish Origins of Social Science (Part 2) - On the Scottish Origins of Social Science (Part 1)
About a decade and a half ago, I was asked to contribute / write materials for a “Scottish Version” of a UK-wide social science course (at a UK distance learning institution). The aim of these teaching materials was to address… Read more: On the Scottish Origins of Social Science (Part 1)
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