Antonio Gramsci: An introduction to his 'notebook' legacy

Abstract

Despite the abundance of material available to those educationists intent upon acquainting themselves with the Gramscian legacy, there exists a singular deficiency within the literature of any concise overview of Gramsci combining detail of the man, his times and the significant theoretical developments associated with his pre-'Notebook' era. This paper therefore attempts to address this omission by presenting the reader with a concise, yet theoretically rigorous, overview of the historical, political and cultural context against which any reading of Gramsci's 'Notebooks' must necessarily be located. 'Education for liberation' is the predominant theme of Gramsci's lifetime commitment. To ignore this theme, as many educationists have done previously,² is to deny the 'Leitmotiv' or rhythm of thought which was so integral to the Gramscian project itself.