An Introduction to Antonio Gramsci: His Life, Thought and Legacy

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This is a concise introduction to the life and work of the Italian militant and political thinker, Antonio Gramsci. As head of the Italian Communist Party in the 1920s, Gramsci was arrested and condemned to 20 years imprisonment by Mussolinis fascist regime. It was during this imprisonment that Gramsci wrote his famous Prison Notebooks over 2,000 pages of profound and influential reflections on history, culture, politics, philosophy and revolution. An Introduction to Antonio Gramsci retraces the trajectory of Gramscis life, before examining his conceptions of culture, politics and philosophy. Gramscis writings are then interpreted through the lens of his most famous concept, that of hegemony; Gramscis thought is then extended and applied to think through contemporary problems to illustrate his distinctive historical methodology. The book concludes with a valuable examination of Gramscis legacy today and useful tips for further reading. George Hoare and Nathan Sperber make Gramsci accessible for students of history, politics and philosophy keen to understand this seminal figure in 20th-century intellectual history.

Reviews

George Hoare and Nathan Sperber have produced a modern, methodologically consistent introduction to Antonio Gramsci, his thought and legacy; an excellent guide to interdisciplinary Gramscian studies. * Marx and Philosophy Review of Books *
Hoare and Sperber have written a fantastic book that will appeal to both experts of Gramsci and those newly interested in him alike ... The book not only offers a well-written account of his life and thought to refer to in future work, but more importantly, two challenging chapters presenting a new way of applying Gramscis approach to contemporary issues ... A great basis for anyone who wants to engage with Gramsci's concepts and methods. * LSE Review of Books *
[This book] provides a helpful ... introduction to Gramsci's writings ... the section on education [is] particularly interesting, as this is an area often overlooked in other books on Gramsci ... For a student undertaking a university course where the thoughts of Gramsci are discussed directly, or applied obliquely to a particular discipline, Hoare and Sperber's book will prove a useful ... introduction. * International Socialism *
George Hoare and Nathan Sperber have produced a modern, methodologically consistent, introduction to Antonio Gramsci, his thought and legacy; an excellent guide to interdisciplinary Gramscian studies. * International Studies *
This valuable overview of Gramscis political thought supplies an engaging, accessible and contextually informed account of its evolution and architecture. It serves both as an introductory guide, and as a fresh critical evaluation of his ideas. Its authors make a strong case for the integrated character of his ideas, highlighting his distinctive, historically informed method of social analysis. And they offer a thoughtful assessment of the continuing relevance of his intellectual methodology for those working in the fields of political theory and political economy. * Michael Kenny, Queen Mary University of London, UK *
After a long hiatus in the eighties and nineties, the Gramsci literature in English is booming. The power of his ideas and example never went away, from the intensities of the earliest reception in the 1970s to their capillary circulation across the long onset of the neoliberal new times, but the direct commentaries are now proliferating once again. George Hoare and Nathan Sperber offer an excellent guide through those increasingly elaborate discussions. Their new Introduction is lucid, economical, comprehensive, and international -- critical in the very best of ways. * Geoff Eley, University of Michigan, USA *

Author Bio

George Hoare is an independent researcher and co-host of the Bungacast podcast. His books include The End of the End of History: Politics in the Twenty-First Century (2021; with Alex Hochuli and Philip Cunliffe) and Taking Control: Sovereignty and Democracy after Brexit (2023; with Philip Cunliffe, Lee Jones, and Peter Ramsay). Nathan Sperber is a sociologist based in Paris and an associate of the European Center of Sociology and Political Science of the Sorbonne (CESSP), France.