ANTONIO GRAMSCI: CONCEPT OF HEGEMONY

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES OF INTEREST

Italian (born 1891, died 1937)

University at Turin (Fiat and class conflict)

Co-founder of Italian Communist Party

Jailed by Mussolini in 1926

Main work: Prison Notebooks

BASIC CONCEPT

Cultural Hegemony is the idea that a particular social group in a culturally diverse society can rule or dominate al other social groups. (this is a round about way of saying rich people control everyone else)

KEY WORDS

The State (compromise) Civil Society (intellectual leadership) Hegemony

Counter-hegemony War of manoeuvre vs. War of position

GRAMSCIS THEORY
Gramscis theory proposes what is called war of manoeuvre as well as war of position: War of position: This is were anti-capitalists seek to become the dominant voice of mass media; mass organizations (as well as schools) actively teach ideological conversion away from capitalist ideas; class consciousness, revolutionary theory and analysis are taught to increase anti-capitalism(revolutionary organization is promoted). War of manoeuvre: Once this intellectual war of position is won, communist leaders have the necessary political support and power to begin an armed insurrection against capitalism-known as the war of manoeuvre.

*APPARATUSES = a. An appliance or device for a particular purpose b. An integrated group of materials or devices used for a particular purpose

GRAMSCI'S INFLUENCE IN POPULAR CULTURE

Music: Gramsci Melodic American (Pittsburgh) synthpop band Scritti Politti British alternative band Billy Bragg English folk musician Theatre: Occupations Gramsci is a central character in Trevor Griffiths's 1970 play about workers taking over car factories in Turin in 1920. Television: Emily Thomas Spaced Series 1 Episode 5 features a dog named Gramsci, named by his owner after "an Italian Marxist" to help in his campaign against the ruling class by hunting down the rich. One character claimed that the dog could smell wealth from twenty feet away. Cities Genoa A major road going through the lower portion of Genoa, along the coast, is named after Antonio Gramsci.

REFERENCES
Gramsci, Antonio. Selections from the Prison Books, p.9. Lawrence and Wishart: 1982. Perry Anderson, 1976. The Antinomies of Antonio Gramsci. New Left Review., p. 20. Dominic Strinati - Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture, Chapter 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci #Hegemony