Which 'Distance'? Who Plays a Role?: Revisiting Gramsci's 'Theory of Distance'

Jingsong Zhang

doi:10.47297/wspctWSP2515-470204.20250901

PDF
Export
Share
Collection
Album

Which 'Distance'? Who Plays a Role?: Revisiting Gramsci's 'Theory of Distance'

Volume 9, Issue 1

Views: 0 Downloads: 0

Which 'Distance'? Who Plays a Role?: Revisiting Gramsci's 'Theory of Distance'
Which 'Distance'? Who Plays a Role?: Revisiting Gramsci's 'Theory of Distance'
School of International Chinese Studies, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200333, China
Vol. 9, Issue 1, Pages: 31-38(2025)
Published：29 May 2025
DOI：10.47297/wspctWSP2515-470204.20250901
Accepted：

Scan QR Code

Zhang Jingsong.Which 'Distance'? Who Plays a Role?: Revisiting Gramsci's 'Theory of Distance'[J].Critical Theory,2025,09(01):31-38.
DOI：

Zhang Jingsong.Which 'Distance'? Who Plays a Role?: Revisiting Gramsci's 'Theory of Distance'[J].Critical Theory,2025,09(01):31-38. DOI： 10.47297/wspctWSP2515-470204.20250901.

摘要

Abstract

In contrast to the 'theory of psychic distance' which originating from the Enlightenment

Gramsci's 'theory of distance' breaks free from the 'formalist' approach in literary and art criticism. This new theory of 'distance' is deeply rooted in Gramsci's reflections on Italian literary issues and is more closely tied to his further extension and elaboration of the Marxist theory of the superstructure—an aspect that has been overlooked in previous studies of Gramsci's 'theory of distance.' Gramsci employs the notion of 'maintaining distance' to emphasize that 'modern

intelligent' readers must not uncritically enter the author's 'ideological world.' Instead

they should actively adopt a 'national-popular' stance in their critique

becoming organic intellectuals engaged in the struggle for national-popular hegemony.

关键词

Keywords

references

Althusser, L. (2020a). History and imoerialism: Writings, 1963-1986 . (G.M.Goshgarian, Trans.). Polity Press.

Althusser, L. (2020b). What Is To Be Done?. (G.M.Goshgarian, Trans.). Polity Press.

Bullough, E. (2000). Psychical Distance as a factor in Art and an Aesthetic Principle. In Zhu Liyuan (Eds.), Twentieth-Century Western Aesthetics: Classic Texts Vol.4 (pp. 356-359). Fudan University Press.

Bakhtin, M. (2009). The Formal Method in Literary Scholarship: A Critical Introduction to Sociological Poetics. (Qian Zhongwen, Trans.). Hebei Education Press.

Chen, Y. (2009). Hegemony and 'High Culture'--Revisiting Gramsci. Theory and Criticism of Literature and Art 139 (5), 30-37. https://doi.org/10.16532/j.cnki.1002-9583.2009.05.025

Gong, G. (1996).'On the Dialectical Relationship Between Aesthetic Appreciation and Moral Appreciation—With a Critique of Gramsci's "Theory of Distance" ' . Theory and Criticism of Literature and Art, 60 (4), 122-125. https://doi.org/10.16532/j.cnki.1002-9583.1996.04.029

Gramsci, A. (1965). Lettere dal Carcere. Einaudi Editore.

Gramsc i, A. (1971). Selections from the Prison Notebooks. (Q. Hoare & G. Smith, Trans.). International Publishers.

Gramsci, A. (1979). Letters from Prison. (L. Lawner, Trans.). Quartet Books, 1979.

Gramsci, A. (1983) On Literature. (Lv Tongliu, Trans.). People's Literature Publishing House.

Gramsci, A. (1996). Letterature e Vita Nazionale. Editori riuniti, 1996.

Fan, H., & Chen, S. (2007). Complementarity in Different Contexts—A Comparison Between Gramsci and Bullough's 'Theories of Distance', Journal of Zhuzhou Teachers College, 59 (6), 46-49. Retrieved from https://kns.cnki.net/reader/flowpdf?invoice=vs2fEZftf0wkX1U43Jgp5VYCI0Lz4xDYy58GfysSr33BqOzf1IVtcNuhcvllPkEIoAJcanl73lx6s76XIYx2a%2FZ0BPhq5BxxrkFRkikRJzbadIrve24lf54tY%2Bqkq0C%2FvecrR5i1Z1FkCVSBrKfR%2FwbfWc%2F4ZYEQuny5MLwDmP0%3D & platform=NZKPT & product=CJFQ & filename=ZZSF200706012 & tablename=cjfd2007 & type=JOURNAL & scope=trial & dflag=pdf & pages= & language=CHS & trial= & nonce=17E0E62736FE456D8D682E303B8D62F3 & cflag=pdf

Kant, I. (1990). Essays on Critique of Historical Reaso n. (He Zhaowu, Trans.). The Commercial Press, 1990.

Kant, I. (2002). Kritik der Urtheilskraft. (Deng Xiaomang, Trans.). People's Publishing House.

Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1972). Selected Works of Marx and Engels.Vol 4 . (Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, Trans.). People's Publishing House.

Shklovsky, V. (1989). Art as Technique. In Tzvetan Todorov (Eds.), Selected Works of Russian and Soviet Formalist Literary Theory (p. 65) . (Cai Hongbin, Trans.). China Social Sciences Press.

Williams, R. (1985). Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. Oxford University Press.

Mao, Z. (1991). Selected Works of Mao Zedong Vol.3. People's Publishing House.

Li, Z. (2001). Four Lectures on Aesthetic. Guangxi Normal University Press, 2001.

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

No data

Related Author

No data

Related Institution

No data

⁰