American Association for Italian Studies (AAIS) conference in Philadelphia (March 13-15, 2025)
This session explores the Italian 1970s, from cultural developments at the time to the decade’s impact on Italy and beyond. Much more than just the “terrorism” of the “Years of Lead,” the Italian 1970s featured vibrant countercultures, revolutionary ideas, innovative methods of self-organization, workers’ and student protests, the rise of feminism, the roots of the Italian LGBTQ+ movement, social reform, conservative backlash, changes in sexual norms, and much more. In addition to this direct heritage, the 1970s have been (re)elaborated in objects of memory, particularly in innumerable representations in literature, cinema, television, and theater. Given rising scholarly interest in the Italian 1970s in recent years, we solicit recent research related to questions such as—but not limited to—the following: What ideas, events, and processes from the 1970s remain understudied and/or little known? How have the 1970s been told and how might we add to or challenge these narratives? What might we learn from the 1970s for today? This panel welcomes papers that address any aspect of Italian 1970s culture, history, and memory.
Please submit a title, brief abstract (150-200 words), and a short biography to panel organizers Judith Tauber (jmt349@cornell.edu) and Sergio Ferrarese (sferrarese@wm.edu) by October 25, 2024.