Gramsci, Culture and Anthropology [Paperback]

Kate Crehan (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520236025 | ISBN-13: 978-0520236028 | Publication Date: October 7, 2002 | Edition: 1

In the last twenty years Antonio Gramsci has become a major presence in British and American anthropology, especially for anthropologists working on issues of culture and power. This book explores Gramsci's understanding of culture and the links between culture and power. Kate Crehan makes extensive use of Gramsci's own writings, including his preprison journalism and prison letters as well as the prison notebooks. Gramsci, Culture and Anthropology also provides an account of the intellectual and political contexts within which he was writing. Crehan examines the challenge that Gramsci's approach poses to common anthropological assumptions about the nature of "culture" as well as the potential usefulness of Gramsci's writings for contemporary anthropologists.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kate Crehan is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at The College of Staten Island, City University of New York. She is the author of The Fractured Community: Landscapes of Power and Gender in Rural Zambia (California, 1997).

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (October 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520236025
• ISBN-13: 978-0520236028
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, November 24, 2010

By 

Jesse Taylor (North Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gramsci, Culture and Anthropology (Paperback)

Before reading this, I had no exposure to Gramsci, and only limited exposure to Marxist theory; nonetheless, this was very approachable.

Crehan does a great job at both laying out some common errors in mainstream anthropology's understandings of "culture", and how Gramsci's studies of culture could lead to a firmer foundation for cultural theory.

Overall, I found this to be highly a enjoyable read and would recommend it for anyone who is studying cultural theory or is interested in learning a bit about Gramsci's work.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Most Accessible Works on Gramsci Available, August 14, 2011

By 

S. J. Boatwright (New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gramsci, Culture and Anthropology (Paperback)

I read this work as part of a rather large project I was/still am working on regarding Gramsci's concept of "common sense". Gramsci's work, although not too theoretically dense, can be difficult for readers due to his constant historical references. Reading Gramsci almost always requires a knowledge of Italian fascism, early Bolshevism, Italian intellectual history (mainly Croce), and the conditions which Gramsci was writing under (in a fascist prison and in code as to not attract the attention of the censors). Crehan does a phenomenal job of providing the needed background in a succinct manner and then diving into the meat of Gramsci's cultural arguments.

The book is simply magnificent! It analyzes cultural assumptions and the production of culture through a Gramscian lens. As a political scientist I did not know what to expect from a book with an anthropological base; it ended up being one of the most valuable resources in my work.