Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Behnam Elmi ¹
• hasan zandiyeh ²

¹ Ph.D. Candidate of History, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

² Associate Professor of Department of History, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

It was Antonio Gramsci, who, for the first time, introduced a logical explanation of the concept of the subaltern into social history studies. Before him, of course, thinkers such as Hegel and Marx had discussed social classes such as the masses and lumpen proletarians in their works. Gramsci, however, in a reaction to the traditions of the Marxist theory before him—which had adopted a passive view towards the agency of the subaltern— viewed the activities, actions of the subaltern as a determining factor in the political and cultural struggles of the society as a whole in order to provide a platform for change and the improvement of the living conditions of these classes.he considered the term "spontaneity", which lacked the structure of organization, planning and conscious leadership, as a focal point and a prominent element in defining the term “subaltern” in the hierarchy of the class system of society.

In this research, first the theoretical framework of the concept of the subaltern from Gramsci's point of view and its differences with those of the thinkers before him will be explored. and after describing the historical process of the formation and consolidation of the Iranian subaltern, an answer to the question “ to what extent the construction of the concept of the subaltern in the historical and political geography of Europe is compatible with the conditions of the formation of the subaltern classes within the context of the history of political and economic relations of contemporary Iran?” will be attempted.

Keywords

• Antonio Gramsci
• Subaltern
• Lumpen Proletarian
• Spontaneity

Main Subjects

• Social history