In Memory of Joshua Clover: A Brilliant Mind and Cherished Member of the SMR Community
It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we share the devastating news that our friend, colleague, and one of the newest and most vibrant additions to the SMR faculty, Joshua Clover, has passed away. His sudden departure is a tremendous loss not only to us personally but to the broader community of thinkers, writers, and activists who were touched by his work, his teaching, and his unwavering commitment to the pursuit of justice and truth. May his work and name never be forgotten.
Joshua Clover was, without question, one of the great ones — a towering intellect, a fiercely principled thinker, and a mentor to so many. He brought extraordinary depth, clarity, and imagination to everything he undertook. His work cut across boundaries, combining the rigor of political economy, the lyricism of poetry, and the urgency of radical critique, making him a singular voice in contemporary critical theory.
Joshua was slated to teach his first course at SMR this coming fall — a short but deeply anticipated offering titled “Marx in the Present Tense.” Designed to reframe materialist methodology for contemporary conditions, the course was intended as both an homage to Marx’s revolutionary spirit and a bold extension of it, beyond the limitations of any orthodoxy, including Marxist ones.
The course outline reflected Joshua’s vision of theory as a living, breathing tool for understanding — and changing — the world. Each lecture would have begun with a broad conceptual frame, leading into a focused examination of some of the most urgent features of our present planetary crisis. The four lectures, set to take place on November 21, 28, and December 5 and 12, were to be titled:
-
Method, or value’s fate
-
Mode, or colonialism and capitalism
-
Mechanism, or Césaire’s boomerang
-
Marx in the present tense, or class struggle in the 21st century
Through these lectures, Joshua intended to illuminate the systematic historical forces shaping the world today and to offer reflections on the forms of struggle that the current moment demands. In typical Clover fashion, the course promised to be intellectually expansive, politically urgent, and filled with the kind of incisive critique that challenged all of us to think and act more boldly.
Joshua Clover was a professor of critical theory, English, and comparative literature at the University of California, Davis, and served as the director of the Marxist Institute for Research. He was the author of seven influential books that spanned political economy, poetry, and popular culture, always weaving together insights from different disciplines to illuminate the complexities of our world. His work has inspired generations of students, scholars, and organizers, and his absence will be deeply felt across many spheres.
Above all, Joshua believed in the power of collective thought and collective action. He never treated theory as a detached exercise but always as something living — something that demanded engagement, struggle, and transformation. He taught us that understanding the world must always be in service of changing it.
Today, we grieve the loss of Joshua Clover not only as a scholar but as a comrade, a mentor, a friend, and an irreplaceable member of our community. His brilliance, his humor, his passion, and his profound belief in the possibilities of a better world will continue to inspire us.
We will honor Joshua’s memory by continuing the work he believed in, by refusing to let his insights and his vision fade, and by committing ourselves to the kind of deep, transformative struggle that he spent his life advancing.
Rest in power, Joshua Clover. You will never be forgotten.
In Memory of Joshua Clover: A Brilliant Mind and Cherished Member of the SMR Community
It is with profound sadness and a heavy heart that we share the devastating news that our friend, colleague, and one of the newest and most vibrant additions to the SMR faculty, Joshua Clover, has passed away. His sudden departure is a tremendous loss not only to us personally but to the broader community of thinkers, writers, and activists who were touched by his work, his teaching, and his unwavering commitment to the pursuit of justice and truth. May his work and name never be forgotten.
Joshua Clover was, without question, one of the great ones — a towering intellect, a fiercely principled thinker, and a mentor to so many. He brought extraordinary depth, clarity, and imagination to everything he undertook. His work cut across boundaries, combining the rigor of political economy, the lyricism of poetry, and the urgency of radical critique, making him a singular voice in contemporary critical theory.
Joshua was slated to teach his first course at SMR this coming fall — a short but deeply anticipated offering titled “Marx in the Present Tense.” Designed to reframe materialist methodology for contemporary conditions, the course was intended as both an homage to Marx’s revolutionary spirit and a bold extension of it, beyond the limitations of any orthodoxy, including Marxist ones.
The course outline reflected Joshua’s vision of theory as a living, breathing tool for understanding — and changing — the world. Each lecture would have begun with a broad conceptual frame, leading into a focused examination of some of the most urgent features of our present planetary crisis. The four lectures, set to take place on November 21, 28, and December 5 and 12, were to be titled:
-
Method, or value’s fate
-
Mode, or colonialism and capitalism
-
Mechanism, or Césaire’s boomerang
-
Marx in the present tense, or class struggle in the 21st century
Through these lectures, Joshua intended to illuminate the systematic historical forces shaping the world today and to offer reflections on the forms of struggle that the current moment demands. In typical Clover fashion, the course promised to be intellectually expansive, politically urgent, and filled with the kind of incisive critique that challenged all of us to think and act more boldly.
Joshua Clover was a professor of critical theory, English, and comparative literature at the University of California, Davis, and served as the director of the Marxist Institute for Research. He was the author of seven influential books that spanned political economy, poetry, and popular culture, always weaving together insights from different disciplines to illuminate the complexities of our world. His work has inspired generations of students, scholars, and organizers, and his absence will be deeply felt across many spheres.
Above all, Joshua believed in the power of collective thought and collective action. He never treated theory as a detached exercise but always as something living — something that demanded engagement, struggle, and transformation. He taught us that understanding the world must always be in service of changing it.
Today, we grieve the loss of Joshua Clover not only as a scholar but as a comrade, a mentor, a friend, and an irreplaceable member of our community. His brilliance, his humor, his passion, and his profound belief in the possibilities of a better world will continue to inspire us.
We will honor Joshua’s memory by continuing the work he believed in, by refusing to let his insights and his vision fade, and by committing ourselves to the kind of deep, transformative struggle that he spent his life advancing.
Rest in power, Joshua Clover. You will never be forgotten.