Dialectical materialism = a way of analysis that focuses on contradictions as engines driving change in a given direction to produce a deeper science. Dialetics allows us to understand relationships and materialism grounds it in reality. It is teleological, not positivist and is the enemy of idealism.
^That’s the quickest summary of DM I can think of so far and I wonder what I will change from that definition years into the future.
(You highlighted an important need for marxists to deeply understand theory and therefore I am revisiting what I have learned about DM starting with Stalin’s famous essay then dashthered’s essay then Losurdo’s book on Hegel and Freedom of the Moderns. Previously I started with Politzer’s Elementary Principles of Philosophy and then a bunch of Redsails.org articles. The latter two are really good resources but I want to try a fresh approach here)
But to better answer your question the authors/topics that came top of my head was Roland Boer, Samir Amin and liberation theology, so I did mini-research to make a reading list which I will be also adding to my own pile:
Roland Boer - Red Theology, on the Communist Christian Tradition
Samir Amin - A life looking forward
Liberation Theology - Gustavo Gutierrez
Religious Factor - Jose Carlos
(Addendum - I am an athiest myself but wanted to read around the topic you mentioned. I can’t pinpoint sources for the opinions I have so chances it will become hopefully more refined with time)
I completely forgot the Indian experience, so here’s some more to my pile:
DD Kosambi (polymath marxist historian): (1) Intro to study of indian history, (2) Myth and Reality
EMS - Mahatma and the Ism
KN Pannikkar - Against Lord and State
Western Hemisphere:
Du Bois - Souls of Black folk
CLR James - Black Jacobins (this one detailing the Haitian Revolution is going to be even more relevant given recent events)
Claudia Jones - End to the Neglect (this list is a good/bad example of the lack of inclusion of women - we should include more but on a quick search this is all I could find on the cross section of marxism and religion. There will be undoubtedly be way more)
Pan-africanists:
Cabral - Return to Source, and Weapon of Theory (that last title is awesome)
Thank you, I am “re-learning” DM myself:
https://lemmygrad.ml/post/9855623/7353553
But to better answer your question the authors/topics that came top of my head was Roland Boer, Samir Amin and liberation theology, so I did mini-research to make a reading list which I will be also adding to my own pile:
(Addendum - I am an athiest myself but wanted to read around the topic you mentioned. I can’t pinpoint sources for the opinions I have so chances it will become hopefully more refined with time)
An absolute banger of an answer! This goes into my saved posts! Thank you very much, comrade! I always love to get educated by comrades. :)
I completely forgot the Indian experience, so here’s some more to my pile:
Western Hemisphere:
Pan-africanists: