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

by George Hoare, Nathan Sperber

Overview

This book examines the life, major ideas and lasting influence of the Italian militant and political thinker, Antonio Gramsci. Author of the famous Prison Notebooks – over 2,000 pages of profound and influential reflections on history, culture, politics, philosophy and revolution – and head of Italian Communist Party in the 1920s, Antonio Gramsci is one of the most important European political thinkers of the 20th century. An Introduction to Antonio Gramsci provides an accessible overview of Gramsci's conceptions of culture, politics and philosophy and, crucially, analyses how Gramsci's theories can be applied in the context of 21st-century global politics and to issues such as Brexit, Covid, the rise of populism and the Ukraine crisis.

This edition includes:

· A brand new chapter that considers Gramsci's relevance to contemporary politics and events
· Expanded and updated sections relating to political theory and political economy
· An exploration of the most recent Gramsci scholarship
· Additional sections on 'Gramsci and the New Right' and 'Gramscian Gender Studies'

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350423176
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/20/2025
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part One: Life
1. Antonio Gramsci, 1891-1937
Part Two: Thought
2. Culture
3. Politics
4. Philosophy
5. Hegemony
Part Three: Legacy
6. Mapping Gramsci's Legacy
Part Four: Applications
7. Thinking through Gramsci in Political Economy: Hegemony and the Origins of Neo-Liberalism in Britain and France
8. Thinking through Gramsci in Political Theory: Left/Right and the Critical Analysis of Common Sense
9. Thinking through Gramsci in Political Analysis: Democracy, Revolution, and Restoration in the age of populism, Brexit, and Covid
10. Conclusion
Guide to Further Reading
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"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

"This valuable overview of Gramsci's 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

From the Publisher

This valuable overview of Gramsci's 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

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