Zene Cosimo - Political Philosophies of Antonio Gramsci and B. R. Ambedkar

Bridging two generations of scholarship on social inequality and modern political forms, this book examines the political philosophies of inclusion of subalterns/Dalits in Gramsci's and Ambedkar's political philosophies. It highlights the full range of Gramsci's philosophy of praxis and presents a more critical appreciation of his thought in the study of South Asian societies. Equally, Ambedkar's thought and philosophy is put to the forefront and acquires a prominence in the international context.

Overcoming geographical, cultural and disciplinary boundaries, the book gives relevance to the subalterns. Following the lead of Gramsci and Ambedkar, the contributors are committed, apart from underscoring the historical roots of subalternity, to uncovering the subalterns presence in social, economic, cultural, educational, literary, legal and religious grounds. The book offers a renewed critical approach to Gramsci and Ambedkar and expands on their fndings in order to offer a present-day political focus into one of the most crucial themes of contemporary society.

This book is of interest to an interdisciplinary audience, including political theory, post-colonial studies, subaltern studies, comparative political philosophy, Dalit studies, cultural studies, South Asian studies and the study of religions.

Cosimo Zene is Head of Department in the Study of Religions Department at SOAS, University of London, UK. His publications include The Rishi of Bangladesh (RoutledgeCurzon, 2002) and a special issue of Culture and Religion on Religion in Gramsci (Taylor & Francis, forthcoming).

Routledge advances in South Asian studies
Edited by Subrata K. Mitra
South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany

South Asia, with its burgeoning, ethnically diverse population, soaring economies, and nuclear weapons, is an increasingly important region in the global context. The series, which builds on this complex, dynamic and volatile area, features innovative and original research on the region as a whole or on the countries. Its scope extends to scholarly works drawing on history, politics, development studies, sociology and economics of individual countries from the region as well those that take an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to the area as a whole or to a comparison of two or more countries from this region. In terms of theory and method, rather than basing itself on any one orthodoxy, the series draws broadly on the insights germane to area studies, as well as the tool kit of the social sciences in general, emphasizing comparison, the analysis of the structure and processes, and the application of qualitative and quantitative methods. The series welcomes submissions from established authors in the field as well as from young authors who have recently completed their doctoral dissertations.

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The Political Philosophies of Antonio Gramsci and B.R. Ambedkar
Itineraries of Dalits and subalterns
Edited by Cosimo Zene

The Political Philosophies of Antonio Gramsci and B.R. Ambedkar

Itineraries of Dalits and subalterns

Edited by Cosimo Zene

First published 2013
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2013 Cosimo Zene

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
The political philosophies of Antonio Gramsci and Ambedkar : subalterns and dalits / edited by Cosimo Zene.

pages cm. (Routledge advances in South Asian studies ; 25)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Ambedkar, B. R. (Bhimrao Ramji), 18911956. 2. Gramsci, Antonio, 18911937. 3. Political sciencePhilosophy. 4. Social integration Philosophy. 5. EqualityPhilosophy. I. Zene, Cosimo.
B65.P58 2013
320.0922dc23