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The Weight of the Printed Word
Text, Context and Militancy in Operaismo
Series: - Historical Materialism Book Series, Volume: 234
Author:
In The Weight of the Printed Word, Steve Wright explores the creation and use of documents as a key dimension in the activities of the Italian workerists during the 1960s and 1970s. From leaflets and newspapers to books, internal documents and workersâ enquiries; the operaisti deployed a wide variety of printed materials in their efforts to organise amongst new subjectivities of mass rebellion.
As Wright demonstrates, the practice of working with print was a central part of what it meant to be a workerist or autonomist militant during these years: one that throws light both on the meaning of political engagement, as well as the challenges posed by the use of technologies of communication and by emergent social subjects.
As Wright demonstrates, the practice of working with print was a central part of what it meant to be a workerist or autonomist militant during these years: one that throws light both on the meaning of political engagement, as well as the challenges posed by the use of technologies of communication and by emergent social subjects.
Steve Wright is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University. He has written widely on operaismo, including Storming Heaven: Class Composition and Struggle in Italian Autonomist Marxism (Pluto, second edition, 2017).
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Print, Document Work, and Class Politics
1 What Are Militants? Ceto politico and ceto operaio
2 Texts Have Bodies Too: Towards a Materialist Approach to Document Work and Genre
3 Genre, Document Work and Militancy amongst the Operaisti: Some Preliminary Reflections
Introduction to Part 1
4 The Fiat Workersâ Enquiry of 1960â61: Setting the Scene
5 The Fiat Workersâ Enquiry of 1960â61: What Actually Happened?
6 The Meaning of the Workersâ Enquiry and Co-research in the Early 1960s
Introduction to Part 2
7 Cultural Production in the Italy of the âEconomic Miracleâ
8 The Essay and Its Discontents
9 The Role of the Review in Classical Workerism
10 The Book Trade and Academia
Introduction to Part 3
11 The Emergence of the Assemblea operai e studenti
12 The Assembleaâs Document Work
13 A Short Addendum on Pamphlets
Introduction to Part 4
14 Debating Organisation in Print: Potop 1969â71
15 Other Elements of Potere Operaioâs Genre Repertoire
16 Two Brief Interludes: âIn Praise of Illegal Workâ and âSotto la Moleâ
17 A Gamble That Failed: Potere Operaio del lunedì
Introduction to Part 5
18 Internal Communication Concerning Potere Operaioâs Press and Organisation
19 âThe Measures Takenâ
20 Position Papers and Discussion Documents
Introduction to Part 6
21 The Best Re(a)d Paper in Autonomia?
22 Senza Tregua â A Brief and Unhappy Existence?
23 âA Paper That Speaks, a Radio That Writesâ: I Volsci and the Impact of Radio on the Printed Word
Introduction to Part 7
24 âThe Firebrands of Porto Margheraâ
25 âThere Is No Housework in Marxâ
Conclusion: Print, Document Work, and Class Politics
Glossary
References
Index
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Print, Document Work, and Class Politics
1 What Are Militants? Ceto politico and ceto operaio
2 Texts Have Bodies Too: Towards a Materialist Approach to Document Work and Genre
3 Genre, Document Work and Militancy amongst the Operaisti: Some Preliminary Reflections
Part 1 The Workersâ Enquiry and Co-research
Introduction to Part 1
4 The Fiat Workersâ Enquiry of 1960â61: Setting the Scene
5 The Fiat Workersâ Enquiry of 1960â61: What Actually Happened?
6 The Meaning of the Workersâ Enquiry and Co-research in the Early 1960s
Part 2 Essays and Their Contexts
Introduction to Part 2
7 Cultural Production in the Italy of the âEconomic Miracleâ
8 The Essay and Its Discontents
9 The Role of the Review in Classical Workerism
10 The Book Trade and Academia
Part 3 Leaflets and Sundries
Introduction to Part 3
11 The Emergence of the Assemblea operai e studenti
12 The Assembleaâs Document Work
13 A Short Addendum on Pamphlets
Part 4 Potere Operaio
Introduction to Part 4
14 Debating Organisation in Print: Potop 1969â71
15 Other Elements of Potere Operaioâs Genre Repertoire
16 Two Brief Interludes: âIn Praise of Illegal Workâ and âSotto la Moleâ
17 A Gamble That Failed: Potere Operaio del lunedì
Part 5 Internal Documents and Perspectives Papers
Introduction to Part 5
18 Internal Communication Concerning Potere Operaioâs Press and Organisation
19 âThe Measures Takenâ
20 Position Papers and Discussion Documents
Part 6 âDites-le avec des pavés!â Autonomist Newspapers and the Challenge of Radio
Introduction to Part 6
21 The Best Re(a)d Paper in Autonomia?
22 Senza Tregua â A Brief and Unhappy Existence?
23 âA Paper That Speaks, a Radio That Writesâ: I Volsci and the Impact of Radio on the Printed Word
Part 7 Journals in a Minor Key
Introduction to Part 7
24 âThe Firebrands of Porto Margheraâ
25 âThere Is No Housework in Marxâ
Conclusion: Print, Document Work, and Class Politics
Glossary
References
Index
All interested in postwar Italian Marxism and social movements, and anyone concerned with the experience of Autonomia Operaia, Potere Operaio, Lotta Femminista, and operaismo as a political tendency.