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This book argues that contemporary Italian history has been marked by a tendency towards divided memory. Events have been interpreted in contrasting ways, and the facts themselves often contested. Moreover, with so little agreement over what happened, and why it happened, it has been extremely difficult to create any consensus around memory. These divisions have been seen at all levels, but take on particular importance when linked to the great traumatic and life-changing events of the Twentieth century - war, terrorism, disaster - but can also be applied to more cultural fields such as sport and everyday life. Social change also has an impact on memory. This book will take the form of a voyage through Italy (and into Italy's past), looking at stories of divided memory over various periods in the twentieth century. These stories will be interwoven with analysis and discussion.
List of contents
Divided Memory. Theory, Methodology, Practice World War One. Monument wars, Unknown Soldiers and Open-Air Cemetries Fascist Memories, Memories of Fascism Italian Wartime Camps, Italians in Wartime Camps. Traces, Memories, Silences, 1940-2008 1940-1943. Victory, Occupation, Defeat, Collapse, Memory Nazi Massacres and Divided Memory. Stories, Causes, Scapegoats, Memoryscapes The Resistance. Three Wars, Many Memories, Many Silences The Strategy of Tension and terrorism. Piazza Fontana and 'The Moro Case'
About the author
JOHN FOOT is a Professor of Modern Italian History at University College London, UK.
Summary
This book argues that contemporary Italian history has been marked by a tendency towards divided memory. Events have been interpreted in contrasting ways, and the facts themselves often contested. Moreover, with so little agreement over what happened, and why it happened, it has been extremely difficult to create any consensus around memory. These divisions have been seen at all levels, but take on particular importance when linked to the great traumatic and life-changing events of the Twentieth century - war, terrorism, disaster - but can also be applied to more cultural fields such as sport and everyday life. Social change also has an impact on memory. This book will take the form of a voyage through Italy (and into Italy's past), looking at stories of divided memory over various periods in the twentieth century. These stories will be interwoven with analysis and discussion.
Additional text
'A fascinating account of the sometimes grotesque battles to honour or dishonour this or that Fascist or Communist, with politicians on both sides putting up or tearing down plaques and monuments, naming and renaming streets, to suit their version of events.' - London Review of Books
Report
'A fascinating account of the sometimes grotesque battles to honour or dishonour this or that Fascist or Communist, with politicians on both sides putting up or tearing down plaques and monuments, naming and renaming streets, to suit their version of events.' - London Review of Books
