Hall of Fame
Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937)
In 32 notebooks, written over 11 years in an Italian prison, Antonio
Gramsci wasn't published in English until the 70s. If you hear the
word 'hegemony' it's likely to have come from someone who has read,
or just as likely not read but is unknowingly quoting, Gramsci.
Informal education along with defined roles of for intellectuals
and redefining schools, are all main themes for Gramsci.
He was a Marxist who looked at cultural and ideological forces
in society. He took Marxism and updated its theories in the light
of 20th century evidence. The physical conflict between the classes
became a mental conflict, where ideas were the weapons, perpetuated
through institutions, especially educational institutions. He was
to have a great influence on radical educational theorists such
as Freire and Illich.
Schools
Power for the ruling classes, came not from force but ideological
manipulation and control. Schools and education played a major role
in perpetuating this hegemony, reinforcing the social norms of dominance
and obedience. The fact that different classes tend to have different
schools was evidence that this dynamic was operative. Schools, he
thought, should give all pupils a common grounding, free from social
differences. However, he was no Rousseau-like romantic. Children,
he recognised, did not take naturally to learning. For this reason
learning must fit the child.
Informal learning
Such schools would produce well-rounded participants in society,
but also intellectuals who would check the propensity of the ruling
classes to assert and reassert their ideological power. The educated
individual could act critically to change society and play a significant
role in society. Education was therefore a powerful torrent of ideas
and action in a society with the capability of changing society
for the better. This was a powerful force in 20th century socialist
thinking, where intellectuals, and worker's education, were regarded
as being at the vanguard of working class consciousness and struggle.
Conclusion
Gramsci related Marxism directly to the institutions of education
and saw them as playing a key role in the ideological revolution.
The role of intellectuals, not merely academic, in changing society
was also recognised. Many would argue that this sort of academic
Marxism had a deleterious effect on schooling, politicising education
and schools. Others would still argue that an egalitarian educational
system is far from realisation and that Gramscian ideas have huge
currency in modern debates on education and schooling. As with so
much of this debate, the danger lies in the jargon and dialogue
on both sides of the debate.
Bibliography
Allman, P. (1988) "Gramsci, Freire and Illich: Their Contributions
to Education for Socialism" in Tom Lovett, (ed) Radical Approaches
to Adult Education: A Reader. London: Rutledge.
Boggs, C. (1976) Gramsci's Marxism. London: Pluto Press.
Entwistle, H. (1979). Antonio Gramsci: Conservative schooling
for radical politics. London: Routledge.
Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks.
London: Lawrence and Wishart.
Carmel Borg et al (2003) Gramsci & Education Rowman & Littlefield
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramsci
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