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Kategorie: Gesellschaft/Società

Shifting Borders. Un podcast sui confini tra passato e presente / Ein Podcast zwischen Vergangenheit und Gegenwart

La rivista bilingue Storia e regione propone una nuova visione della storia regionale: non più un luogo definito da confini politici o naturali, ma uno spazio flessibile, i cui contorni vengono ridefiniti di volta in volta in base ai fenomeni storici analizzati.

Die zweisprachige Zeitschrift Geschichte und Region bietet eine neue Perspektive auf Regionalgeschichte: keine Region im administrativen Sinn, die durch politische oder natürliche Grenzen festgelegt ist, sondern ein flexibler Raum, der je nach den Besonderheiten der untersuchten historischen Phänomene immer wieder neu bestimmt werden muss.

An Odd-Jobs Republic. The 2025 Referendum in Italy and the Long Decline of Labour Rights

Italy’s June 2025 referendum aimed to put labour rights and job insecurity back at the centre of political debate. Yet with turnout stuck at just over 30%, it failed to reach the quorum—reflecting decades of reforms that have weakened protections, fragmented careers, and turned flexibility into structural precarity. From the “Treu Package” to the Jobs Act, legislative choices have reshaped the very meaning of work, eroding its social value and excluding many, especially migrants, from full citizenship. Understanding this trend is key to rethinking labour, rights, and belonging in 21st-century Italy.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Shaping Collective Imagination and Reinforcing Cultural and Social Bias

Artificial intelligence is transforming the way we see the world, but at what cost? AI-generated images not only reflect cultural biases—they amplify them, shaping collective imagination and reinforcing exclusive identities. From political propaganda to deepfake-fueled polarization, these technologies are being strategically exploited to reshape narratives and influence public perception. As AI becomes a key player in digital culture and ideological battles, the challenge is twofold: developing transparent, unbiased models while fostering critical awareness. The future of visual storytelling depends on ethical innovation, diverse datasets, and interdisciplinary oversight to ensure AI serves society rather than manipulates it.

Quando il desiderio femminile ridefinisce il maschile. Sessualità, emancipazione e paradossi nella commedia erotica italiana.

Negli anni Settanta, il cinema erotico italiano divenne uno specchio grottesco e ironico delle trasformazioni culturali e sociali in corso. Attraverso personaggi maschili inetti e caricaturali contrapposti a figure femminili potenti e seducenti, queste commedie esplorarono la tensione tra una femminilità emancipata e una mascolinità disorientata. Il genere, spesso etichettato come intrattenimento superficiale, si rivelò invece un osservatorio privilegiato per comprendere i cambiamenti nelle dinamiche di genere e nei rapporti di potere, offrendo una rappresentazione paradossale ma incisiva della sfida rappresentata dal desiderio femminile.

Die Digitalisierung der Politik. Jill Lepore über den “Künstlichen Staat”

In unserer digitalisierten Welt werden politische Prozesse zunehmend automatisiert. Harvard-Professorin Jill Lepore untersucht in ihrem Artikel die Auswirkungen auf die Demokratie. Sie betrachtet datengesteuerte Wahlkampagnen und die Rolle von Algorithmen und sozialen Medien. Wie verändert sich die politische Landschaft? Welche Risiken birgt diese Transformation? Vor welchen Herausforderungen stehen wir? Welche Chancen bietet die digitale Politik, und wie formt sie den “künstlichen Staat”?

Perceived Exclusion and the Rise of Opposition: Navigating Social Change

A commentary on “Stefan Holubek-Schaum, Natalie Grimm & Patrick Sachweh (3. Juli 2024). Anschluss verpasst? Über das Gefühl, zurückgelassen worden zu sein”.
Exploring the phenomenon of social status loss amid rapid economic and cultural changes, highlighting how feelings of marginalization foster collective identities. By examining the interplay of economic disadvantage and cultural alienation, it discusses how shared experiences of exclusion lead to the formation of oppositional narratives and communities.
Drawing insights from the research conducted by the Forschungsinstitut Gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt, it sheds light on the multifaceted nature of feeling ‘left behind’ and its implications for social cohesion in contemporary society.

© Laura Borràs Dalmau

Some Reflections on the Fascist legacy in Italy

Some Reflections from the Round Table at the Kick-Off Event F-Word: An anthropological exploration of fascist practices and meanings among European youth – 30 May 2024 University of Turin
Within the contemporary Italian political scene, the term “fascism” stirs a blend of historical reflection and current analysis. Its legacy, far from being a mere relic of the past, actively permeates both rhetoric and concrete political practices today. The journey from the anti-fascist resistance movement culminating in the Italian Republic to the present illustrates not merely a continuation of specific ideologies but a nuanced adaptation that reflects the dynamic nature of political beliefs and cultural identity. The persistent presence of far-right currents, evolving from historical fascism to modern iterations like the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI), Alleanza Nazionale (AN), and ultimately Fratelli d’Italia, underlines the complexity of fully disengaging from a fascist past. This dialogue explores the validity of “fascism” as a term in contemporary discussion, the legitimate association of current political practices with historical fascism, and the most palpable manifestations of fascist legacy in today’s Italy. Here, we delve into an integrated narrative, pieced together from various perspectives throughout our conversation

A Precarious Balance: San Precario’s Legacy and the Fight Against Fleeting Job Security

The transformations in the Italian labor market over the final decades of the 20th century were driven by a complex mix of economic, technological, and political factors. The advent of globalization and rapid technological progress have undermined the foundations of the traditional Fordist work model, characterized by stable jobs and a clear distinction between working time and leisure time. From the ’90s, deregulation initiatives in the labor market, motivated by the desire to increase the competitiveness of Italian companies on a global level, introduced elements of work flexibility. While initially designed to reduce unemployment and facilitate labor market entry for youth and women, these measures over time significantly eroded worker guarantees, exacerbating precarity.
The origins of San Precario date back to February 29, 2004, a leap date that embodies uncertainty and unpredictability, just like the condition of temporary workers. His first “appearance” at a Coop supermarket in the northern area of Milan inaugurated a significant chapter, marking the beginning of a movement that would lead San Precario to become a symbol of the fight against work precarity not only in Italy but also in Europe.

Die extreme Rechte. Deutschland, Italien und Europa

The current issue of the “Archiv für Sozialgeschichte” introduces perspectives on the social history of right-wing extremism. It specifically delves into what constituted right-wing extremism both in the past and present.
Massimiliano Livi’s essay on “The Extreme Right in Italy” illuminates the historical development of this phenomenon. The Movimento Sociale Italiano (MSI) represented the neofascist right in parliament during the First Republic. The essay explores definitional challenges of the extreme right in Italy, distinguishing between neofascism, extreme, and radical right.
Overall, the analysis provides profound insights into the historical genesis, meanings, and societal functions of right-wing extremism in Germany, Europe, and specifically in Italy up to the present day.

“I certainly wouldn’t call it work anymore” – The Reconfiguration of Work in Italy during the 1970s from a Historical Semantics Perspective

At the end of the 1970s, with the onset of the post-boom crisis, the rejection of regulated labour and the theorisation of its liberation through precarisation and flexi-bilisation became part of a cultural and social semantics for the young gen-eration of workers entering the wage labour system. Their motto was “freeing labour to free life from labour”. Through both a quantitative and quali-tative historical semantic analysis of the sources, this contribution examines the medium- and long-term impacts of this reconfiguration on the practices of regulated and controlled wage labour. It also aims to offer an initial reflection on the use of the historical semantic approach for contemporary history and its possible – or rather, necessary – differentiation from other forms of discourse analysis.

“Ich möchte nicht so viel arbeiten wie meine Eltern”

Die junge Generation legt mehr Wert auf die Work-Life-Balance als auf ihre Karriere und die Höhe ihres Geldeinkommens. Die Soziologie diskutiert, dass dieser Wertewandel eine Art Pendelbewegung darstellt, bei der immer dann, wenn materieller Wohlstand erreicht wurde, immaterielle Werte wichtiger werden. In Zeiten von Krisen gewinnt jedoch die Existenzsicherung wieder an Bedeutung.