Antonio Gramsci

Routledge Critical Thinkers

by Steven J. Jones

For readers encountering Gramsci for the first time, Steve Jones covers key elements of his thought through detailed discussion and studies the historical context of the theorist's thought, offers examples of putting Gramsci's ideas into practice in the analysis of contemporary culture and evaluates responses to his work.

Including British, European and American examples, key topics covered here include:

* culture
* hegemony
* intellectuals
* crisis
* Americanization.

Gramsci's work invites people to think beyond simplistic oppositions by recasting ideological domination as hegemony: the ability of a ruling power's values to live in the minds and lives of its subalterns as a spontaneous expression of their own interests

Is power simply a matter of domination and resistance? Can a ruling power be vulnerable? Can subordinates find their resitance neutralized? and What is the role of culture in this? These questions, and many more are tackled here in this invaluable introduction to Gramsci.

 

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Politics, History

167 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 21, 2006

Reviews

[armin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really bad... With irrelevant examples from British political issues at the time the book was actually written and the language which is just so incomprehensible. Don't read it... at all!

[Mun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy and accessible to understand Gramsci's ideas especially on civil society and the organic intellectual.
Also, very short; a day's read.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

The sweet irony of publishing this book in a collection called "critical thinkers".

[Alvaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent introduction to the life, work and application of Gramsci.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is definitely intended for undergraduates in the UK. And really, it focuses more on the application of Gramsci's thought by various cultural theorists than on his work more specifically. Useful in some regards, less in others.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clear, concise description of AG's life, times, work, terms.

Of particular interest to those also interested in Gramsci's translation by Hall, Hebdige, and British "Cultural Studies."

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, thankfully entry-level introduction to Gramsci's thought.

[Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

simple language, easy to follow. It's all right. Does not go into a lot of depth which can be frustrating. I would recommend this to someone in high-school

[Jere · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We are all conformists of some conformism or other, always man-in-the-mass or collective man."