Gender And Culture Wars In Italy

This book examines contemporary culture wars around gender in Italy. Applying methods from European cultural studies, the authors reconstruct the ways in which gender issues have become part of the contemporary culture wars in Italy. Recently the convergence between neoliberalism and populism has emphasised the centrality of gender in the political arena at the global level, as well as its crucial place in the rise of far-right and alt-right formations. By examining the cases of three key debates from the last five years, this book traces the moments, actors, and argumentative strategies that triggered these culture wars around gender issues.

This book aims to understand the European political debate about contentious issues, framed in terms of religious values by religious and/or secular actors in 21st century. It specifically focuses on the Italian case, which, due to its peculiar history and contemporary political landscape, is a paradigmatic case for the study of the relationships between religion and politics. In recent years, a number of controversies related to religious issues have characterised the European public debate at both the EU and the national level. The ‘affaire du foulard’ in France, the referendum on abortion in Portugal, the recognition of same-sex marriages in many Western European States, the debate over bioethics and the regulation of euthanasia are only a few examples of contentious issues involving religion. This book aims to shed light on the interrelation between these different debates, as well as their broader meaning, through the analysis of the paradigmatic case of Italy. Italy summarizes and sometimes exasperates wider European trends, both because of the peculiar role traditionally played by the Vatican in Italian politics and for the rise, since the 1990s, of new political entrepreneurs eager to exploit ethical and civilizational issues. This work will be of great interest to scholars and students of a number of fields within the disciplines of political science, sociology and law, and will be useful for courses on religion and politics, political parties, social movements and civil society.

In the nineteenth century a woman's place was considered to be in the home. During the Risorgimento and the years following the Unification of Italy in 1861, economic, political and social changes enabled women to engage in pursuits that had previously been the exclusive domain of men. This book traces this shift in cultural perception.

This book, a collection of essays in English dealing with women in Italian culture, consists of two sections reflecting a variety of themes and intellectual and political interests. The first section, "Women and the Male Gaze: The Literary and Artistic Heritage", analyses ways in which women were constructed by men through a variety of literary and other discourses, from the Divine Comedy to the twentieth century. The second section, "Tradition and Transformation: Women in Society and the Movement towards Liberation", focuses on definitions by women themselves on their cultural and social identity, and the gradual and at times contradictory evolution of these definitions - changes in women's attitudes towards marriage and the family, proposed reforms to the laws on domestic and sexual violence, and lullabies in Northern and Central Italy as an expression of women's frustration and anger at their position.

In this book, Muir explores an era of cultural innovation that promoted free inquiry in the face of philosophical and theological orthodoxy, advocated libertine morals, critiqued the tyranny of aristocratic fathers over their daughters, and expanded the theatrical potential of grand opera. In so doing, he reveals the distinguished past of today's culture wars, including debates about the place of women in society, the clash between science and faith, and the power of the arts to stir emotions.

Features articles by British, Irish and Italian young researchers working on various aspects of Italian Studies defined since the end of World War II. This volume offers insights into several aspects of post-war Italian culture and introduces perspectives on literature, women's studies, cinema, history and politics.