Fiammetta Balestracci | German Historical Institute London (original) (raw)
Papers by Fiammetta Balestracci
Con questa raccolta di studi sulle trasformazioni sociali ed economiche degli ambienti montani ab... more Con questa raccolta di studi sulle trasformazioni sociali ed economiche degli ambienti montani abbiamo voluto tracciare un quadro delle vie alla modernizzazione delle aree montane su scala globale tra Otto e Novecento e dei conflitti che si sono innescati intorno alle loro contraddizioni. Nell’ambito di una trasformazione epocale, di cui terziarizzazione e urbanizzazione sono stati i tratti peculiari su scala globale, nello spazio europeo la marginalizzazione territoriale si è intrecciata a nuove possibilità di lavoro, ridefinizione del paesaggio e del patrimonio culturale. Nelle aree extra-europee lo sviluppo di un turismo globale, insieme agli effetti postumi della colonizzazione, ha rivitalizzato molte aree montane, inserendole in un sistema globale di comunicazioni e sviluppo economico a cui è da ricondurre anche la natura dei conflitti sociali
Passato e presente, Sep 1, 2022
In this essay the Author examines the cultural and political relationships between the Italian Co... more In this essay the Author examines the cultural and political relationships between the Italian Communist Party and the German Socialist Unified Party of East Germany during the weakening of the Soviet system and communist ideology.
Value Change in the Long Seventies: Still a Historical Contention? Historical research generally ... more Value Change in the Long Seventies: Still a Historical Contention? Historical research generally considers the Seventies as a turning point in European history. The hypothesis that a value change took place during that decade arose out of research by the American political scientist Ronald Inglehart. Based on the results of a European Values Survey conducted in six European states (
The exercise of the violence during the 20. Century knows an exceptional development and differen... more The exercise of the violence during the 20. Century knows an exceptional development and differentiation, so that the concept of the violence can be utilized as a category for interpreting the entire history of the century and its relation with the Modernity. The case of the Nazi-Fascist Occupation of Italy can be collocated in this History. A particular place has in this contest the practice of the military operations finalized to the deportation into the concentration and elimination camps. In this essay the Author analysis the functioning of the Nazi-Fascist repression system, examining technically all known military operations (130) that ended with the deportation of political or civil citizens
Balestracci’s new book is an essay of social, cultural and political history based on primary and... more Balestracci’s new book is an essay of social, cultural and political history based on primary and secondary sources, that through the perspective of the history of sexuality reads again decisive moments of the seventy years history of the Italian Republic. The ‘1968’ is for instance in it both the year of the student’s revolts and the beginning of the sexual liberation and also the date of the first passional murder of the socalled Italian serial killer “mostro di Firenze” (monster of Florence). The Italian national history developed in the book in the frame of international and cultural-social changes of long period where the legacy of the Weimar Republic to the whole West appears to be central.
Children by Choice? Changing Values, Reproduction and Family Planning in 20th Century, edd. by Ann-Katrin Gembris, Theresa Theuke, Isabel Heinemann, Oldenbourg- De Gruyter, Munich, 2018, 2018
After the End of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany the look of the Italian historians... more After the End of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany the look of the Italian historians to the German Contemporary History is extraordinary changed. It was especially liberated from the typical national perception that for all the long Post War Period has represented the German as the “enemy” par excellence. Since this subjective change of the Italian historians the Author tries to think about the new representation of the history of the national socialism and the nazifascist violence in the Italian historiography since 1989.
Jahrbuch für Internationale Germanistik, 2006
Klaus Wagenbach was one of the must important German editor for the diffusion of the Italian lite... more Klaus Wagenbach was one of the must important German editor for the diffusion of the Italian literature in West Germany since the 60s. For this reason he was nominated “cavaliere” of the Italian Republic in 1990. In this essay the Author reconstructs the editorial and cultural activity of the Berlins editor with particular regard for him relations with Italian editors and writers.
Con questa raccolta di studi sulle trasformazioni sociali ed economiche degli ambienti montani ab... more Con questa raccolta di studi sulle trasformazioni sociali ed economiche degli ambienti montani abbiamo voluto tracciare un quadro delle vie alla modernizzazione delle aree montane su scala globale tra Otto e Novecento e dei conflitti che si sono innescati intorno alle loro contraddizioni. Nell’ambito di una trasformazione epocale, di cui terziarizzazione e urbanizzazione sono stati i tratti peculiari su scala globale, nello spazio europeo la marginalizzazione territoriale si è intrecciata a nuove possibilità di lavoro, ridefinizione del paesaggio e del patrimonio culturale. Nelle aree extra-europee lo sviluppo di un turismo globale, insieme agli effetti postumi della colonizzazione, ha rivitalizzato molte aree montane, inserendole in un sistema globale di comunicazioni e sviluppo economico a cui è da ricondurre anche la natura dei conflitti sociali
Passato e presente, Sep 1, 2022
In this essay the Author examines the cultural and political relationships between the Italian Co... more In this essay the Author examines the cultural and political relationships between the Italian Communist Party and the German Socialist Unified Party of East Germany during the weakening of the Soviet system and communist ideology.
Value Change in the Long Seventies: Still a Historical Contention? Historical research generally ... more Value Change in the Long Seventies: Still a Historical Contention? Historical research generally considers the Seventies as a turning point in European history. The hypothesis that a value change took place during that decade arose out of research by the American political scientist Ronald Inglehart. Based on the results of a European Values Survey conducted in six European states (
The exercise of the violence during the 20. Century knows an exceptional development and differen... more The exercise of the violence during the 20. Century knows an exceptional development and differentiation, so that the concept of the violence can be utilized as a category for interpreting the entire history of the century and its relation with the Modernity. The case of the Nazi-Fascist Occupation of Italy can be collocated in this History. A particular place has in this contest the practice of the military operations finalized to the deportation into the concentration and elimination camps. In this essay the Author analysis the functioning of the Nazi-Fascist repression system, examining technically all known military operations (130) that ended with the deportation of political or civil citizens
Balestracci’s new book is an essay of social, cultural and political history based on primary and... more Balestracci’s new book is an essay of social, cultural and political history based on primary and secondary sources, that through the perspective of the history of sexuality reads again decisive moments of the seventy years history of the Italian Republic. The ‘1968’ is for instance in it both the year of the student’s revolts and the beginning of the sexual liberation and also the date of the first passional murder of the socalled Italian serial killer “mostro di Firenze” (monster of Florence). The Italian national history developed in the book in the frame of international and cultural-social changes of long period where the legacy of the Weimar Republic to the whole West appears to be central.
Children by Choice? Changing Values, Reproduction and Family Planning in 20th Century, edd. by Ann-Katrin Gembris, Theresa Theuke, Isabel Heinemann, Oldenbourg- De Gruyter, Munich, 2018, 2018
After the End of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany the look of the Italian historians... more After the End of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany the look of the Italian historians to the German Contemporary History is extraordinary changed. It was especially liberated from the typical national perception that for all the long Post War Period has represented the German as the “enemy” par excellence. Since this subjective change of the Italian historians the Author tries to think about the new representation of the history of the national socialism and the nazifascist violence in the Italian historiography since 1989.
Jahrbuch für Internationale Germanistik, 2006
Klaus Wagenbach was one of the must important German editor for the diffusion of the Italian lite... more Klaus Wagenbach was one of the must important German editor for the diffusion of the Italian literature in West Germany since the 60s. For this reason he was nominated “cavaliere” of the Italian Republic in 1990. In this essay the Author reconstructs the editorial and cultural activity of the Berlins editor with particular regard for him relations with Italian editors and writers.
Discussion of female sexuality in the West during the 1900s was usually centred on the aspects of... more Discussion of female sexuality in the West during the 1900s was usually centred on the aspects of maternity and reproduction. As the liberalisation narrative in recent historiography has argued, female sexuality ceased to be tied to procreation and marriage sometime during the second half of the 20 th century, partly due to the affirmation of a new form of sexuality more oriented towards experimentation and self fulfilment. Female erotic experience started to be valued in itself and to serve the individualisation of women. This development needs to be integrated with the theory of an unprecedented change in values in industrialised Western Europe towards post-materialism and individualism (Ronald Inglehart et al.). This intervention will explore the role played by the American sexual studies in the redefinition of the female sexuality in the second half of the 20 th century and then they reception in different sectors of the Italian public discourse.
Programma definitivo Panel Balestracci/Colangelo/Comerci/Sposini: La battaglia delle idee. Femmin... more Programma definitivo
Panel Balestracci/Colangelo/Comerci/Sposini: La battaglia delle idee. Femminismo e comunismo tra Italia, Europa e mondo. Discute Maud Bracke
Ripensare la partecipazione politica tra passato, presente e futuro | Rethinking political partic... more Ripensare la partecipazione politica tra passato, presente e futuro | Rethinking political participation between past present and future.
Presentazione della rivista "La Voce della Gioventù" per il suo centenario,15 dicembre 2023 ore 1... more Presentazione della rivista "La Voce della Gioventù" per il suo centenario,15 dicembre 2023 ore 17:30, Fondazione Istituto Piemontese Antonio Gramsci
Il convegno si propone di ricostruire le esperienze e i percorsi politici compiuti dalle donne co... more Il convegno si propone di ricostruire le esperienze e i percorsi politici compiuti dalle donne comuniste dalla nascita del Partito comunista d’Italia nel 1921 e dal suo coinvolgimento nel movimento comunista internazionale sino allo scioglimento del Partito comunista italiano nel 1991 e al definitivo tramonto di un’utopia politica che ha segnato la vita di molte donne e di molti uomini nel Novecento e per buona parte del secolo precedente. Ad essere illuminati saranno la storia e la memoria di donne che attraverso quel partito hanno maturato forme di militanza e modelli di socialità che dal terreno locale si sono trasferite sul piano della politica nazionale e dei rapporti transazionali, passando attraverso la lotta al fascismo, la guerra civile europea e la Resistenza nazionale sino alle battaglie anticoloniali del secondo dopoguerra. Si tratta di storie in cui dimensione individuale e collettiva spesso coincidono e dalle quali inoltre emerge il contributo dato dalle donne comuniste in Italia dopo il 1945 alla costruzione delle istituzioni democratiche e alla formazione di una società più giusta e più attenta ai diritti delle donne.
Il convegno si propone di ricostruire le esperienze e i percorsi politici compiuti dalle donne co... more Il convegno si propone di ricostruire le esperienze e i percorsi politici compiuti dalle donne comuniste dalla nascita del Partito comunista d’Italia nel 1921 e dal suo coinvolgimento nel movimento comunista internazionale sino allo scioglimento del Partito comunista italiano nel 1991 e al definitivo tramonto di un’utopia politica che ha segnato la vita di molte donne e di molti uomini nel Novecento e per buona parte del secolo precedente. Ad essere illuminati saranno la storia e la memoria di donne che attraverso quel partito hanno maturato forme di militanza e modelli di socialità che dal terreno locale si sono trasferite sul piano della politica nazionale e dei rapporti transazionali, passando attraverso la lotta al fascismo, la guerra civile europea e la Resistenza nazionale sino alle battaglie anticoloniali del secondo dopoguerra. Si tratta di storie in cui dimensione individuale e collettiva spesso coincidono e dalle quali inoltre emerge il contributo dato dopo il 1945 dalle donne comuniste in Italia alla costruzione delle istituzioni democratiche e alla formazione di una società più giusta e più attenta ai diritti delle donne.
Università di San Marino, 2022
Media and Gender. History, Representation, Reception
Presentazione del Libro La sessualità degli italiani. Politiche, consumi e culture dal 1945 ad og... more Presentazione del Libro La sessualità degli italiani. Politiche, consumi e culture dal 1945 ad oggi, organizzato da Amici di Passato e Presente, Libri da Asporto e Carocci.
Introduce: Pietro Causarano
Discutono: Monica Galfre, Enrica Asquer, Simonetta Soldani e Sandro Bellassai
An Era of Value Change. The Seventies in Europe, 2019
In Western historiography the Seventies are generally considered as a turning point in European h... more In Western historiography the Seventies are generally considered as a turning point in European history. In Germany they currently tend to be seen as the starting point for the present times, “after the boom” of the Sixties, rather than an epoch in itself. In Italy the perception of political and economic crisis, exacerbated by the experience of terrorism, led to a widespread view of the Seventies as an era of "crisis", representing an analytical key for the history of Republican Italy and its failure. These interpretations focus mainly on political and macro-structural dynamics and reflect the national self-perceptions of the decade, determined by a retrospective view, teleological in nature, and the combined influences on Western historiography, following the initial canonization of the history of the decade, of sociology, the economy, and political science. In fact, during the Seventies and subsequent years some American and European scientists postulated the affirmation of the global society of individuals, with all its risks, and debated the combined crisis of democracy and legitimization of states under advanced capitalism. At the same time, some political scientists and sociologists (Ronald Inglehart, Carlo Tullio Altan, Helmuth Klages, etc.) regarded the crisis in the relationship between civil society and political society as the effect of a change in values in the individual views of citizens. They proposed that the features of the social and cultural transformations underway, and the crises in the systems of representation in individual states and in the traditional political forces, could all be traced back to this change.
The theory of an unprecedented change in values in industrialised Western Europe, recently taken up by German historiography as an explanation for the social and cultural changes of the Seventies, was a starting point for the hypothesis of this conference. The main objective will be to verify this initial hypothesis, which is whether and how, aside from national self-perceptions, the Seventies represented a moment of transformation and discontinuity in the history of European society, and with what national peculiarities this was manifested on the social, cultural, and political-institutional levels. There will be an attempt to assess whether it is possible to combine the diversity and even contradictions that have emerged in the studies of the scholars taking part into a coherent interpretation of European history, comparing events and processes, micro and macro history, national traits, and the experiences of different social groups, generations, and genders.
Discussion of female sexuality in the West during the 1900s was usually centred on the aspects of... more Discussion of female sexuality in the West during the 1900s was usually centred on the aspects of maternity and reproduction. During the second half of the 20th century female sexuality ceased to be tied to procreation and marriage, partly due to the affirmation of a new form of sexuality more oriented towards experimentation and self fulfilment. The conference intends to reconstruct the shifts in public morality, social practices and value changes in these two Western European countries.
In the historiography of many European countries, the 1970s are seen as a caesura. They have been... more In the historiography of many European countries, the 1970s are seen as a caesura. They have been claimed as a period of swift cultural transformation and structural change, as the turning point from post war society to a world " after the boom " characterised by the crisis of high industrial society. This was the time when the postwar emphasis on reconstruction and economic growth faded, and our current world began to take shape. The historians Eric Hobsbawm and Arthur Marwick speak of a " cultural revolution " in order to underline the importance of the cultural change, while political scientists such as Ronald Inglehart have posited a " silent revolution " and the birth of " post-materialist society " , describing the ethical reorientation of citizens as value change towards individual self-realization instead of the acquisition of material goods.
The value change of the Seventies was a transnational phenomenon, caused by local, national and global factors. In the different countries and regions of Europe these factors combined in specific ways to produce nationally specific profiles of cultural change, social restructuring and political democratisation. We want to explore international similarities, national peculiarities and transnational connections, as well as variations in timing, in regard to value changes in different sectors and countries. Depending on local timing, we take the " long Seventies " to begin sometime in the 1960s and end, at the latest, by the early 1980s. The aim of the conference is to compare processes of change across different European countries. These changes transcended the political divisions of the Cold War, and between the Northern democratic states and the Southern dictatorial regimes of Europe.
Ricerche di Storia Politica, 2019
In the post-WWII era, marriage as a social institution played a crucial role in Italy as well as ... more In the post-WWII era, marriage as a social institution played a crucial role in Italy as well as other European countries. However, the absence of divorce resulted in many couples living in a state of permanent illegality, and this revived the parliamentary debate for its introduction. In this debate, the Italian Communist Party assumed a cautious position. Its stance was partly determined by the need to keep its distance from the critical ideologies and counter-cultures of the Sixties. Some of these, inspired by Wilhelm Reich and Herbert Marcuse, criticised Marxism-Leninism from a Freudian-Marxist perspective. Others, including the new American and northern European youth cultures, proposed alternative systems of social integration. When the debate reached its conclusion, after the confirmation of the divorce law in a referendum in 1974, the party had partially revised its position on social issues, granting a more prominent position to the notion of personal freedom.
Webinars of Books' presentations organised by the Italian Society for the Contemporary History of... more Webinars of Books' presentations organised by the Italian Society for the Contemporary History of the German Speaking Areas. The selected books represent the newest trends of the Italian and German-Italian historiographies.
Carocci, 2020
Balestracci’s new book is an essay of social, cultural and political history based on primary and... more Balestracci’s new book is an essay of social, cultural and political history based on primary and secondary sources, that through the perspective of the history of sexuality reads again decisive moments of the seventy years history of the Italian Republic. The ‘1968’ is for instance in it both the year of the student’s revolts and the beginning of the sexual liberation and also the date of the first passional murder of the socalled Italian serial killer “mostro di Firenze” (monster of Florence). The Italian national history developed in the book in the frame of international and cultural-social changes of long period where the legacy of the Weimar Republic to the whole West appears to be central.
Carocci, 2020
Carocci editore Fiammetta Balestracci Politiche, consumi e culture dal 1945 ad oggi La sessualità... more Carocci editore Fiammetta Balestracci Politiche, consumi e culture dal 1945 ad oggi La sessualità degli italiani Carocci editore ¤ 24,00
La storia dell'Italia repubblicana rappresenta ormai da diversi anni un cam-po di studi ampio e variegato. È mancato tuttavia uno studio che prendesse in esame le trasformazioni avvenute nella sfera sessuale ovvero quell'am-bito del pensiero e del comportamento umano che, al pari di altre attività, riguarda la dimensione sociale, culturale e politica della storia. Su questo terreno nell'Italia del dopoguerra si è giocata una partita epocale, conclusa con la crisi della società patriarcale e la fine di quel razionalismo culturale e normativo che, fissato a fine Settecento con la nascita di un diritto positivo che mirava alla secolarizzazione della morale sessuale, per più di un secolo aveva regolato le relazioni tra i sessi. In questo passaggio è stata decisiva la cosiddetta rivoluzione sessuale degli anni Settanta di cui movimenti po-litici, consumi e media sono stati il principale volano. Da questo affresco passaggi salienti della storia dell'Italia repubblicana, come il Sessantotto, le battaglie per il divorzio e per l'aborto, l'avvento della tv e l'epoca del berlu-sconismo, appaiono sotto una nuova luce in un mondo sempre più globale e interconnesso. Fiammetta Balestracci, storica della Germania e della società europea nel xx secolo, nel 2011 ha fondato la Società italiana di storia contemporanea dell'area di lingua tedesca (siscalt). Tra le sue pubblicazioni: La Prussia tra reazione e rivoluzione 1918-1920 (Zamorani, 2004), Al confine delle Alpi. Culture, valori sociali e orizzonti nazionali tra mondo tedesco e italiano, xix e xx secolo (curato con P. Causarano; FrancoAngeli, 2018) e L'Italia degli anni Settanta. Narrazioni e interpretazioni a confronto (curato con C. Papa; Rubbettino, 2019). La sessualità degli italiani Balestracci In copertina: Pier Paolo Pasolini durante le riprese dell'inchiesta cinematografica Comizi d'amore girata nel 1963. © Cineteca di Bologna / Angelo Novi.