International Gramsci Society Newsletter

EditorialThe sixtieth anniversary of Antonio Gramsci's death, in 1997, was marked by a number ofconferences and symposia in various parts of Italy, as well as in Brazil, the United States and Japan.Many of the papers presented at those conferences have now been published in books and journals.(More information about them can be found in the book reviews and the bibliographical sections ofthis Newsletter.) The activities of 1997 provided occasions for many scholars, students, and politicalactivists interested in Gramsci's life and work to get together, exchange views, and embark on newprojects. At the first congress of the International Gramsci Society—held in Naples in October1997—many IGS members stressed the need to make plans for future gatherings and collaborativeactivities on both the international as well on the national and regional level. The IGS-Italia, whichemerged into existence precisely in the process of organizing the Naples congress, has since beenvery active in promoting new initiatives all over Italy. Likewise, the conference held in Tokyo inNovember 1997 resulted in the formation of Gramscian societies in Kyoto and Tokyo which, inaddition to the lectures, symposia, and study-group meetings they regularly organize, have beenpreparing the ground for a truly ambitious undertaking—namely, the preparation of the completecritical edition in Japanese of the Quaderni del carcere.Planning for the next IGS congress is still in its initial stages. The IGS does not have thefinancial resources to underwrite the costs of a conference that would entail substantial expenses forthe use of an appropriate venue, translation services, accomodation, travel, and so on. For thisreason, we depend on the support of other institutions willing to host an IGS conference and to bearsome of the expenses it would necessarily entail. Nevertheless, thanks to the initiative of our mostactive Brazilian members and of the co-ordinating committee of IGS-Italia, an effort is under way tomake the necessary arrangements that would enable the IGS to hold its second congress in Brazil(possibly in Rio de Janeiro) in the autumn of 2001—which would coincide with the 110thanniversary of Gramsci's birth.Needless to say, the study and dissemination of Gramsci's thought are by no means dependentupon—although they are bolstered in many important ways by—activities and publicationsdedicated specifically to Gramscian studies. Indeed, Gramsci's ideas circulate in the most diversevenues and in the most disparate fields of inquiry and political activity. The forthcoming conferencebeing organized by the journal Rethinking Marxism (see the details in the back pages of thisNewsletter) and journals like Counter-Hegemony (see page 35) are just two examples of thebroader contexts in which Gramscian ideas occupy a prominent place in discussions of the mostpressing social, cultural, and political issues of our time.— 1 —