Ep 13 – The Workers’ University: adult education in the Communist Party of Australia
People's History of Australia - A podcast by People's History of Australia
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In the 1940s, with an influx of thousands of new members, the Communist Party of Australia established the Marx Schools - one of the most remarkable experiments in Australian educational history. The schools ran from 10am until 10pm every day of the week, and offered extensive courses in socialist theory, the practicalities of union organising, how to chair meetings and give public speeches, in anti-fascism and women’s rights, and in art, economics, philosophy and literature. With a pedagogy that was far more advanced that most universities, they taught deeply complex ideas to thousands of workers, most of whom hadn't completed school beyond age 13 or 14. To discuss this amazing undertaking, we speak to Bob Boughton, who's researched extensively on the Marx Schools.
