Towards a Literary and Feminist Neo-Avant-Garde: Carla Vasio’s Experimental Fiction

Despite her active involvement in several of the Gruppo 63’s meetings and activities over the years, Carla Vasio (b. 1923) is rarely mentioned in critical discussions of the Italian neo-avant-garde, and very little attention has been devoted to her work. This is not an isolated oversight, but a part of a larger pattern of marginalizing women writers. Our reading of two of Vasio’s most interesting and innovative novels—L’orizzonte (1966) and La più grande anamorfosi del mondo (2009)–shows that this marginalization is unjustified, and that she is a writer who actively contributed to the aesthetic innovation of the Gruppo 63 while creating her own experimental narrative style. Vasio’s literary experimentation is an example of neo-avant-garde aesthetics, distinguished by its sophisticated feminist critique of both the dominant masculinist dynamic of the Gruppo 63 and the misogyny of postwar Italian culture and society.

Feminism(s) and the law. Old legacies and new challenges

In the ongoing debate on the health of feminism, some authors accuse “second wave” feminists, especially European “feminists of difference”, of having weakened fem¬inist claims by abandoning the emancipatory inspiration of “first wave” feminism. “Sec¬ond wave” feminists are also accused of overlooking the importance of the law. If we delve deeper, however, their perspective on law appears to represent one of their most important legacies. Abandoning it in favor of an acritical enthusiasm for liberal gender mainstreaming or a gendered “politics of identity” would be a mistake. Today’s femi¬nists should instead work to adapt this legacy to contemporary challenges.En el debate en curso sobre la “salud” del feminismo, algunos autores acusan a las(os) feministas de la “segunda ola”, especialmente a las(os) “feministas de la diferencia”, de haber debilitado los reclamos feministas al abandonar la inspiración emancipadora de la “primera ola”. Las(os) feministas de la “segunda ola” también son acusadas(os) de ig¬norar la importancia del derecho. Sin embargo, si se profundiza en ello, su perspectiva sobre el derecho parece representar uno de sus más importantes legados. Abandonarlo en favor de un entusiasmo acrítico por la corriente principal liberal de género o una “política de identidad” de género sería un error. Las(os) feministas de hoy en día debe¬rían trabajar para adaptar este legado a los desafíos contemporáneos

Introduction: The Vulnerability Challenge

The essay presents a discussion of vulnerability theory from a philosophical and a sociological perspective. The success of this new paradigm in the social sciences and even in the public discourse appears justified by the need to rethink the institutions and social ties of late modernity, also from a gender perspective. It is undoubtedly a fascinating prospect, but one that conceals numerous pitfalls. In particular, ideas of agency, conflict, emancipation and solidarity, which are closely connected with fundamental rights theory and the development of constitutionalism may lose importance. The vulnerability paradigm, rather than eclipsing the language of rights, could then be used to interpret these rights, to define them with increasing accuracy and reinforce their effectiveness. In particular, the bottom-up construction of an emancipatory notion of vulnerability may well lead to an auspicious update of the interpretation of the principles of dignity, equality and solidarity, principles that nevertheless still appear today as indispensabl

Between “us” and “others”: From identity traps to mobilization

Many scholars and analysts stated that multiculturalism failed and blamed it for fostering radicalization in pluralist societies. Such analyses seem however to be simplistic. Other dynamics, such as social acceleration and the erosion of social securities are in fact at work. The article discusses the meaning of radicalization and the process of the “ideologization of cultures”, highlighting that an “identity trap” can be found in both simplified versions of multiculturalism and even interculturalism and in new nationalist ideologies. It then discusses the idea of localizing and proceduralizing conflicts, matching such a legal approach to pluralism with a necessary political one. The value of pluralism can in fact only be affirmed by mediating and ‘taking seriously’ the demands of social actors. To articulate such claims in terms of “politics of difference” is a losing move. At the same time, this approach has succeeded in revealing the limits of modern universalism. On the theoretical level, our efforts should build on the longstanding work carried out by critical theories in general and feminist theory in particular to seek to render universalism more inclusive. Indeed, such a conception of universalism, which takes shape and content from the multiplicity of struggles and is conceived as constantly forming can inspire not only the struggle for rights but also political action which, instead of breaking apart into multiple identity-based demands, identifies the common objectives to be pursued.

Vulnerability, Care and the Constitutional State

The so called “vulnerability turn” mainly involved ethics. This line of thought encountered feminist analyses, especially those developing an “ethics of care”. In the following pages I outline the main stages of contemporary philosophical reflection on vulnerability, focusing on the relationships between vulnerability theory and some versions of the ethics of care. I then try to show how the theses about vulnerability (and care), today held predominantly by North American scholars, can be employed in Europe in light of the evolution of the “constitutional state”