Public Book Presentation: “Gramsci’s Circle of Humanity and Armenia”

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On May 5th, the American University of Armenia (AUA) College of Humanities and Social Sciences in collaboration with the Armenian Association of World History organized an event dedicated to the legacy of Italian Philosopher and Political Theorist Antonio Gramsci. To mark the 125th anniversary of his birth, the book “Gramsci’s Circle of Humanity and Armenia” was presented by co-authors Smbat Hovhannisyan, Narek Mkrtchyan and Ara Merjian, followed by a keynote speech via Skype by Joseph A. Buttigieg (Notre Dame University, USA), the editor and translator of the multi-volume complete critical edition of Antonio Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks.

The presentations drew attention to Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci’s article “Armenia” published in 1916, discussed Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, and addressed the pivotal steps in the process of recognition of the Armenian Genocide within the context of Gramsci’s outlined “circle of humanity”.

AHWASmbat Hovhannisyan is Associate Professor of World History at the Department of World History of Yerevan State University. He is also a visiting lecturer at AUA.

Narek Mkrtchyan is a PhD candidate at the Department of World History of Yerevan State University, and coordinator of the Armenian History Course at AUA.

Ara Merjian is an Associate Professor of Italian Art History and Director of Undergraduate Studies at New York University. He is the author of “Giorgio de Chirico and the Metaphysical City: Nietzsche, Modernism, Paris” (Yale Univ. Press).

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides US-style education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.