Philosophy

Duty Free Art
Art in the Age of Planetary Civil War

What is the function of art in the era of digital globalisation? In Duty Free Art, filmmaker and writer Hito Steyerl wonders how we can appreciate, or even make art, in the present age. What can we do when arms manufacturers sponsor museums, and some of the world's most valuable artworks are used as a fictional currency in a global futures market that has nothing to do with the work itself? Can we distinguish between creativity and the digital white noise that bombards our everyday lives? Exploring artefacts as diverse as video games, Wikileaks files, the proliferation of spam, and political actions, she exposes the paradoxes within globalization, political economies, visual culture, and the status of art production


Gramsci Pre-Prison Writings

This 1994 collection of Gramsci's pre-prison writings, translated and including a number of pieces not previously available in English, covers the whole gamut of his journalistic activity, ranging from general cultural criticism to commentaries on local, national and international events. These early articles reveal the genesis of many of the themes of the Prison Notebooks, such as the function of intellectuals, the importance of cultural hegemony in holding societies together, and the role of the party in organising a revolutionary consciousness. In particular, the collection highlights the specifically Italian political, cultural and social origins and relevance of much of Gramsci's innovatory reworking of certain central concepts of Marxist thought. It will be of interest to a broad range of scholars and students concerned with the history of political, social and cultural thought in the twentieth century.

  • Covers the whole gamut of Gramsci's journalistic activity
  • Inclusion of early pieces throws new light on the evolution of Gramsci's contribution to Marxist thought
  • All writings newly translated, including some pieces never translated before