Gramsci's Prison Notebooks: A selection of his works is available in the US for the first time.
An exhibition and a round table at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York
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For the first time outside of Europe , four of the Prison Notebooks written by Antonio Gramsci during his imprisonment (1926–1934) are arriving at the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) in New York . This exceptional document will remain on display at the Park Avenue Institute from October 22 to November 19. These notebooks are in which the philosopher and anti-fascist intellectual addressed "Americanism"—American innovations in industrial production and related forms of social organization.
"Gramsci and Americanism. The Prison Notebooks" is the theme of the round table discussion that will open the exhibition on October 22 , with the participation of Silvio Pons , professor of contemporary history at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa and president of the Gramsci Foundation, David Forgacs , 'Zerilli-Marimò' professor of Contemporary Italian Studies at New York University, Kate Crehan , professor of anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center and the College of Staten Island, and Brendan Hogan , 'clinical professor, Liberal Studies' at New York University.
Gramsci's Notebooks have been exhibited only a few times outside Italy, and never before in the United States .
While in prison, despite the effects of incarceration on his health, Gramsci managed to write hundreds of letters and fill 29 school notebooks with reflections on a wide range of topics: from politics to history, philosophy, linguistics, and literature, as well as four notebooks of translations. Published after the end of World War II, Gramsci's letters and notebooks had an extraordinary global impact. Today, more than 22,000 books by or about him exist in 42 languages. His writings have had an enormous influence on political theory and in fields as diverse as history, literary studies, anthropology, and postcolonial studies.
In addition to English translations of selected works, three volumes of the complete Prison Notebooks have been published by Columbia University Press, with the remainder in preparation. Alongside the Notebooks, several books and journals that were instrumental in fueling and supporting his writing and research from prison will also be on display . The exhibition will also feature the documentary Antonio Gramsci. His Life, Writings, and Editions (28 min), produced by the Gramsci Foundation , and it will also be possible to browse all 33 of the Prison Notebooks in digital format using a touchscreen.
Concurrent with the exhibition of the Notebooks at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York (directed by Claudio Pagliara), the Department of Italian Studies at New York University will host an international conference on "America in Gramsci / Gramsci in America" at the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò on October 24 and 25, with the participation of numerous scholars from around the world. The conference, curated by David Forgacs and Kate Crehan, will focus on both Gramsci's writings and their impact on the United States.
(Unioneonline)
