Gramsci

The Marxist thinker who wrote the Prison Notebooks in a Fascist prison.

Life

Sardinian youth

Gramsci was born into a poor family in Sardinia, studied at the University of Turin, and threw himself into the labor movement. In 1921 he co-founded the Italian Communist Party, and later became its General Secretary.

Founder of the Italian Communist Party

In 1926 Mussolini's government arrested him and sentenced him to twenty years in prison. Though gravely ill in prison, he still wrote the 3,000 pages of the Prison Notebooks, developing concepts such as "cultural hegemony."

Prison Notebooks

In 1937, shortly after being released at the end of his sentence, he died of illness in Rome.

Legacy

Gramsci's theory of "cultural hegemony" had a profound influence on 20th-century political science, sociology and cultural studies.

Major works & achievements

• Prison Notebooks
• Letters from Prison

Did you know? The prosecutor at his trial said: "We must stop this brain from working for twenty years."

Key dates

• 1911Enters the University of Turin
• 1921Co-founds the Italian Communist Party
• 1926Arrested by the Fascist government
• 1929Begins writing the Prison Notebooks
• 1937Died