Antonio Gramsci was a militant intellectual and communist leader in interwar Italy. He was politically active during the crisis of Italy's liberal institutions and their subsequent replacement by Mussolini's fascist dictatorship. Gramsci ended up in gaol as a “subversive” of the regime. Imprisoned for over ten years before his death (in Rome, on conditional release), nevertheless he succeeded in writing a vast collection of notes and essays on political, philosophical and cultural matters. When published after the Second World War, these “Prison Notebooks” and particularly their guiding concept – hegemony – became a major source for the revision of Marxist theory and politics. His insights have earned Gramsci the status of “classic” political thinker with a distinctive…

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Citation: Martin, James. "Antonio Gramsci". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1835, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1835 Antonio Gramsci 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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