In December 1991, the Associació Catalana Antonio Gramsci was formed at a meeting held in Barcelona. Artur Obach, writing on behalf of the newly formed Society, kindly sent the IGS the following information:
...the Associació Catalana Antonio Gramsci was founded at a meeting which took place on 18 December in Barcelona. Its statutes declare that, among other things, the purpose of the association is the study and dissemination of the thought of Antonio Gramsci and it intends to foster, as one of its activities, the possibility of exchanges with other entities which in some form or another are concerned with Gramsci's work and thought.
A Coordinating Committee was formed at the meeting; its members are: Ignacio Alvarez Dorronsoro, Juan Ramon Capella, Francisco Fernándo Buey, Ferran Gallego, Artwo Obach, and Joan Tafalla.
We are now making plans for a General Assembly meeting in late February or early March, by which time we hope to have completed the formal inscription and registering of the association.
In the meantime, the coordinating committee has set as its main goal the dissemination of information about this initiative among all those individuals who might be interested so that, by the time of the general assembly, we would have a large and significant base. [END PAGE 35]
We will keep you informed about the development of our activities. Looking forward to future contacts, we send you our warmest greetings. Further information can be obtained from: Associació Catalana Antonio Gramsci; Ronda St. Pere, 44 Pral 2a; 08010 Barcelona.
Further information can be obtained from: Associació Catalana Antonio Gramsci; Ronda St. Pere, 44 Pral. 2#; 08010 Barcelona.
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The IGS recently received from the Associazione Antonio Gramsci di Ales (in the province of Oristano in Sardinia) a detailed account of its current activities and plans. The Associazione Gramsci was formed in February 1990 as a cultural society whose interests and activities are inspired by but not limited to the study and dissemination of the Gramscian legacy. One of the projects being launched by this association should be of great interest to all members of the IGS. This project --Progetto Biblioteca Gramsciana-- is designed to construct a library devoted entirely to writings by and about Gramsci. The goal is to collect under one roof all the Italian and foreign editions of Gramsci's writings as well as all the items listed in J. Cammett's Bibliografia Gramsciana. The task of overseeing this project has been entrusted to Luigi Manias who will be assisted by members of a local youth organization who have received training in librarianship and archival studies. Many technical aspects of the project have already been discussed. However, the success of this project depends heavily on the cooperation and generosity of the editors and authors who have produced books and articles by and about Gramsci. Everyone who has published work on Gramsci is invited to donate one or (preferably) two copies of it to this project. Those unable to do so may still be of help by arranging for their publishers to make the relevant books available at a significant discount. Please make sure to contact: Luigi Manias, via Amsicora 19, 09091 Ales (OR), ITALY.
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An organization not primarily or directly concerned with Gramsci but probably of interest to a significant number of Gramscian scholars is the Internationale Gesellschaft für dialektische Philosophie-Societas Hegeliana. This international society (founded in 1981) seeks to promote interdisciplinary research [END PAGE 36] aimed at a critical analysis of society. The study of Marx and Hegel and their relationship is at the basis of the studies promoted by this society. In fact, one of the central concerns of the Societas Hegeliana has been the relationship between the French Revolution and classical German philosophy. The past work of the society (the "Annalen" as well as the conferences held during the past few years) foregrounds the figure of Hegel as theoretical inheritor of the French Revolution. On the terrain of cultural struggle, the philosophical and theoretical efforts of the Societas Hegeliana are directed at the liberation of Hegel from the prejudiced and tendentious readings which have consigned him to the conservative (and even, perhaps, to the reactionary) tradition. The emphasis on the Hegel-Marx nexus, furthermore, stands in opposition to those approaches (including the ones inspired by traditional interpreters of Hegel) which have the effect of detaching Marxism from dialectics and historicism. Within this context, Gramsci's figure is emblematic since his work constitutes an original elaboration of the theoretical legacy of critical Marxism and draws upon the sources of the French Revolution and classical German philosophy (and Hegel, in particular). There are ample reasons for anticipating collaboration on various levels between the members of the Societas Hegeliana and the IGS. The next international conference of the Societas Hegeliana will be held at Ischia on 13-16 May 1992. The conference title will be: «La fatica del concetto. Hegel, Marx e l'analisi critica della società.» The presiding committee of the Societas Hegeliana is made up of: Domenico Losurdo, Manfred Bahr, Juha Manninen, Shlomo Avineri, Hans Heinz Holz, Reinhard Lauth, Georges Labica, Teodor Oiserman, Hans Jorg Sandkühler. For further information about the Societas Hegeliana and its activities contact Alberto Burgio, via Colombo 3, 27100 Pavia, Italy (Tel. 038232618). [End page 37]