The Routledge Guidebook to Gramsci's Prison Notebooks


Book Description

Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks are one of the most important and original sources of modern political philosophy but the Prison Notebooks present great difficulties to the reader. Not originally intended for publication, their fragmentary character and their often cryptic language can mystify readers, leading to misinterpretation of the text. The Routledge Guidebook to Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks provides readers with the historical background, textual analysis and other relevant information needed for a greater understanding and appreciation of this classic text. This guidebook: Explains the arguments presented by Gramsci in a clear and straightforward way, analysing the key concepts of the notebooks. Situates Gramsci’s ideas in the context of his own time, and in the history of political thought demonstrating the innovation and originality of the Prison Notebooks. Provides critique and analysis of Gramsci’s conceptualisation of politics and history (and culture in general), with reference to contemporary (i.e. present-day) examples where relevant. Examines the relevance of Gramsci in the modern world and discusses why his ideas have such resonance in academic discourse Featuring historical and political examples to illustrate Gramsci's arguments, along with suggestions for further reading, this is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to engage more fully with The Prison Notebooks




The Routledge Guidebook to Gramsci's Prison Notebooks


Book Description

Gramsci's Prison Notebooks are one of the most important and original sources of modern political philosophy but the Prison Notebooks present great difficulties to the reader. Not originally intended for publication, their fragmentary character and their often cryptic language can mystify readers, leading to misinterpretation of the text. The Routledge Guidebook to Gramsci's Prison Notebooksprovides readers with the historical background, textual analysis and other relevant information needed for a greater understanding and appreciation of this classic text. This guidebook: Explains the arguments presented by Gramsci in a clear and straightforward way, analysing the key concepts of the notebooks. Situates Gramsci's ideas in the context of his own time, and in the history of political thought demonstrating the innovation and originality of the Prison Notebooks. Provides critique and analysis of Gramsci's conceptualisation of politics and history (and culture in general), with reference to contemporary (i.e. present-day) examples where relevant. Examines the relevance of Gramsci in the modern world and discusses why his ideas have such resonance in academic discourse Featuring historical and political examples to illustrate Gramsci's arguments, along with suggestions for further reading, this is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to engage more fully with The Prison Notebooks d analysis of Gramsci's conceptualisation of politics and history (and culture in general), with reference to contemporary (i.e. present-day) examples where relevant. Examines the relevance of Gramsci in the modern world and discusses why his ideas have such resonance in academic discourse Featuring historical and political examples to illustrate Gramsci's arguments, along with suggestions for further reading, this is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to engage more fully with The Prison Notebooks




Gramsci and Media Literacy


Book Description

Gramsci and Media Literacy: Critically Thinking about TV and the Movies offers a series of contemporary media analyses that use Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony to explore how dominant ideologies in media delivery, historical storytelling, and gender in today’s mass media environment become the commonsense viewpoints that maintain power structures in civil society. Through a media literacy approach, case studies of ideological delivery through television and film illustrate why Gramscian media theory serves as a valuable tool for revealing the many ways hegemonic thought operates in the media sphere and in everyday life, and they offer hope for counterhegemonic understandings.




Hegemony


Book Description

Power rarely works by force alone: it also rules by winning hearts and minds. States, classes, and social groups all seek political dominance by exerting political, ideological, or cultural leadership over others. This idea – hegemony – is a subtle, complex one, which is too often applied crudely. In this succinct introduction, political theorist James Martin skilfully examines these nuances and shines a new light on hegemony. He introduces its component ideas and critically surveys the most influential thinking about hegemony, from Gramsci’s theory of hegemony as a revolutionary strategy and Marxist theories of the state, politics, and culture to the Post-Marxist project of radical democracy. He then considers the concept’s critical role in analysing international politics and global political economy, and evaluates the criticism that hegemony is too state-centric to truly capture the dynamics of contemporary struggles for emancipation. This lucid and accessible guide to hegemony will be essential reading for all students of radical politics and social and political theory.




The Routledge Encyclopedia of Citizen Media


Book Description

This is the first authoritative reference work to map the multifaceted and vibrant site of citizen media research and practice, incorporating insights from across a wide range of scholarly areas. Citizen media is a fast-evolving terrain that cuts across a variety of disciplines. It explores the physical artefacts, digital content, performative interventions, practices and discursive expressions of affective sociality that ordinary citizens produce as they participate in public life to effect aesthetic or socio-political change. The seventy-seven entries featured in this pioneering resource provide a rigorous overview of extant scholarship, deliver a robust critique of key research themes and anticipate new directions for research on a variety of topics. Cross-references and recommended reading suggestions are included at the end of each entry to allow scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds to identify relevant connections across diverse areas of citizen media scholarship and explore further avenues of research. Featuring contributions by leading scholars and supported by an international panel of consultant editors, the Encyclopedia is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as researchers in media studies, social movement studies, performance studies, political science and a variety of other disciplines across the humanities and social sciences. It will also be of interest to non-academics involved in activist movements and those working to effect change in various areas of social life.




The Vortex of Power


Book Description

This book explores the role of intellectuals and governance processes in post-authoritarian Indonesia. Focusing on East Java, the author argues that intellectuals have played an increasingly direct and practical role in the exercise of governance at the local level of Indonesian politics. The book provides insights into how the collaboration between intellectuals and local politico-business elites has shaped good governance and democratic institution-building, validating power structures that continue to obstruct political participation in the country. In addition, the book also delves into the contribution of local intellectuals in resolving the contradictions between technocratic ideas and governance practices, in the interest of local elites. Empirical studies included in the book add to the broader literature on the social role of intellectuals, highlighting their role as not just defined by their capacity to produce and circulate knowledge, but also by their particular position in concrete social and political struggle. The author also explores the manner in which relationships between intellectuals, business and political elites and NGOs in local political and economic practices, intersect with national-level contests over power and resources.







The Routledge Guidebook to Plato's Republic


Book Description

Plato, often cited as a founding father of Western philosophy, set out ideas in the Republic regarding the nature of justice, order, and the character of the just individual, that endure into the modern day. The Routledge Guidebook to Plato's Republic introduces the major themes in Plato's great book and acts as a companion for reading the work, examining: The context of Plato's work and the background to his writing Each separate part of the text in relation to its goals, meanings and impact The reception the book received when first seen by the world The relevance of Plato's work to modern philosophy, its legacy and influence. With further reading included throughout, this text follows Plato's original work closely, making it essential reading for all students of philosophy, and all those wishing to get to grips with this classic work.




Gramsci's Political Thought


Book Description

In Gramsci's Political Thought, Carlos Nelson Coutinho offers an analysis of the evolution of the political thought of Antonio Gramsci. Focusing on central concepts of the Prison Notebooks and relating them to the history of modern political ideas, the book also demonstrates that Gramsci’s ideas continue to be relevant resources for understanding the controversies of our present time. Written by a leading Brazilian Marxist theorist, Gramsci's Political Thought provides one of the most succinct and theoretically focused introductions to the thought of Antonio Gramsci available internationally.




B.R. Ambedkar and Social Transformation


Book Description

This book revisits the philosophy of B.R Ambedkar in the context of the present socio-economic-political realities of India. It examines the philosophical and theoretical interventions of Ambedkar, as well as his egalitarian principles of equality, liberty, fraternity and morality. Noting the current shift in state policy from welfarism to neoliberalism, the book argues that the measures, interventions and recommendations that Ambedkar made are highly appropriate and concrete to face challenges and can be considered as practical solutions to existing problems. It studies various themes that form a part of his oeuvre such as Buddhism, federalism, justice, social exclusion, representation, anti-caste system, women’s equality, among others. It also discusses his impact on literature, visual arts, and literary, democratic and cultural movements throughout history. The volume positions Ambedkar as a theoretician, social reformer, and a real visionary of social justice and democratization. It will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of social exclusion, politics, especially Indian political thought, sociology and South Asian studies.