NEED TO KNOW: What is Gramsci's perspective on Marxism?

I think this Need to Know question falls under the Comprehension domain of the HOTQ's. In order to truly show that I understand Gramsci's philosophy is if I'm able to put it into my own words. I think by doing so will also help me with future research, because instead of relying on Gramsci's words (which are complex in their own nature) or on other people's interpretations, I'll be able to create a more original final product. Questions that require me to classify, interpret, and summarize his ideology will push me to critically think about his writings and actions.

3 sub-questions:

1. What exactly is Gramsci's theory behind Hegemony?

   • This would fall under both Knowledge and Application, I think. I said Knowledge because I have no foundational understanding of what Hegemony is. The questions that fall under Knowledge help guide me in the direction of what exactly I have to uncover about Hegemony. Then, to add a layer of critical examination, I think that Application would be the perfect fit. I could see how Hegemony applies to society today and how it applied to society then.

2. What are the similarities and differences between the critiques Gramsci gave to Socialism/Marxism and Communism?

   • This one requires the questions that fall under Analysis. It asks for a lot of contrast between two different ideologies. I already have the foundational knowledge as to what they are, what is left for me to do is understand what Gramsci's critiques of these ideologies are and how they compare to one another.

3. One of the following (will decide as I go forth with my research):

   • What is Gramsci's critique of Americanism (specifically the American version of Capitalism compared to the Western European method)?

     • • This one falls under Comprehension. Its structure and what it's asking is very similar to my NEED TO KNOW, where once I have a solid foundation in Americanism (specifically what Gramsci is critiquing about America), I can answer the following questions under Comprehension to answer this question.

OR

3. • How much of an impact did Fascism have on Gramsci's ideology?

     • • This requires Analysis and Evaluation. For this question, I can take it accurately to an extent, then the rest of the way will have to rely on assumptions. In order to have those assumptions be the most precise possible, I'd have to have a solid understanding of both Gramsci's ideology and the Italian Fascist ideology. So, the first step of comprehension and accurate assumptions falls under the Analysis tab, while the inferring uses the questions under the Evaluation tab.

I view my second sub-question as the most vital (as of now) to drive and really put forth that first step. Though I do think understanding Gramsci's biggest contribution to Orthodox Marxist thinking (the first sub-question) is important, I think we first should comprehend where exactly Gramsci agreed with Marx and where he didn't. The two questions under the third section point more towards the step that follows the NEED TO KNOW I have above.

For my next SDA, my essential question will be "What is Gramsci's perspective on Marxism?". As for my sub-question, I aim to answer "What are the similarities and differences between the critiques Gramsci gave to Socialism/Marxism and Communism?" as I try to solve the former. I chose these as my next target because it's what I want my project to center around for the rest of the year. It would've been the questions for my first SDA, but I knew that I needed to have a more foundational understanding of the politics of Italy at the time. Now that I've answered that first SDA, I think I'm ready to proceed in tackling the generic idea of what I aim my topic of research to be for this year. I already have a general knowledge of Socialism and Communism, so I thought it was ideal to pick that subquestion, especially because critiques of Socialism and Communism literally make up at least 90% of Gramsci's ideology.
Answering this essential question matters because it'll propel me into the rest of the topic at hand. It will give me a vague idea as to how much time and analysis is required of Gramsci in order to create my own independent thought about it. By doing so, I can adjust future plans for SDAs. I chose to go with the book of Grmasci's selected writings because my dad had bought it for me over the summer, so I wanted to put it to good use, and it's a primary source. I also chose other documents to use that can accompany me in my reading. I do intend on reading first the primary sources, then the documents so that any bias in the documents won't affect my perception of Gramsci's writings.
I'm not yet sure what medium to use for my SDA. It'll have to be something that can answer a compare and contrast question, along with a "What is" question. But, using the book I have, I'll use any writing sections of Gramsci that pertains to Socialism and Communism.