Gramsci 100: Fascism, Interregnum, Democracy is a conference marking the centenary of Antonio Gramsci’s imprisonment by the Italian Fascist regime in November 1926. Widely regarded as among the foremost political thinkers of the twentieth century, Gramsci developed—under conditions of incarceration and censorship—a body of work that has shaped political theory, history, cultural studies, and sociology.
The centenary occasions a return to Gramsci’s thought in light of contemporary political developments, including attacks on academic freedom, democratic erosion, and authoritarian resurgence. The conference asks how Gramsci can illuminate these events as phenomena rooted in institutional breakdown and social dislocation. What does a Gramscian lens contribute to our understanding of democratic backsliding? How does Gramsci’s position as an imprisoned intellectual speak to contemporary struggles over academic freedom and the politics of knowledge? And what resources do his reflections on democracy offer for reimagining political agency under conditions of crisis and breakdown?
By gathering Anglophone, French, and Italian scholars to address these questions, the conference strengthens intellectual exchange between the University of Chicago’s IIRP and peer institutions in France and Italy. Returning to Gramsci at a centennial juncture enables reassessment of his legacy, mobilizing his thought to illuminate today’s political upheavals.