Francis Chateauraynaud & Yves Cohen (eds.), Histoires pragmatiques

1. Can “practice” and “practices” be used as epistemological tools to study history? Can these concepts be used to break up unilateral and teleological narratives one the one hand, and, on the other, to provide a basis for a new understanding and writing of history and histories? The twelve essays (by thirteen authors) collected by Francis Chateauraynaud and Yves Cohen under the title Histoires Pragmatiques (in the Ehess’s Raisons pratiques. Epistémologie, sociologie, théorie sociale series) ..

The Constitution in the Shopfloor. Some notes on Fordist Social Contract and Constituent Compromise

The Italian «constitutional compromise» between the liberal, catholic, and socialist-communist traditions and the «fordist-keynesian compromise» between capital and labor are two frequent set expressions. They are often put together, and sometimes overlapped, insofar as they share an emphasis on the central role of labor, the former putting it at the very foundation of the Republic, the latter at the core of the virtuous circle of mass production and mass consumption. Starting from a discussion of these formulas, the essay will propose some lines of research for the history of the Italian Republic, not without significance for contemporary political discourse

Francis Chateauraynaud & Yves Cohen (eds.), Histoires pragmatiques

1. Can “practice” and “practices” be used as epistemological tools to study history? Can these concepts be used to break up unilateral and teleological narratives one the one hand, and, on the other, to provide a basis for a new understanding and writing of history and histories? The twelve essays (by thirteen authors) collected by Francis Chateauraynaud and Yves Cohen under the title Histoires Pragmatiques (in the Ehess’s Raisons pratiques. Epistémologie, sociologie, théorie sociale series) ..

La colonne Trajane: invention, composition, disposition

The reliefs of the Trajan's Column are considered as both an historical account of the Dacian Wars and a sequence of exempla pointing to 'ideal' behaviour-patterns for the Emperor and his Army. A parallel between the sculpted frieze and the text of Onasander (De optimo imperatore, 1st Cent A. D.) emphasizes the interpretation of the Column's narrative in terms of contemporary standards (moral values and their verbal counterpart). An analysis of the problems of visibility of the reliefs and the study of their compositional rules leads to describe the making of the Column in three phases : drawing, clay (or wax) model, marble carving; or, along rhetorical language, inventio, compositio, dispositio. Further proposals on the relations between patron and artist(s) are drawn from two literary sources : a letter of Lucius Verus to Fronto, and a passage from Gregory's of Naziance Contra Julianum

La grande fabbrica fordista. Culture politiche e scienze sociali alla prova del neocapitalismo

Già apparso nelle controversie sull’economia pianificata all’indomani della crisi del 1929, specie in Francia come ‘néo-capitalisme’, il concetto di ‘Neocapitalismo’ è strettamente legato a quello di ‘fordismo’ nel dibattito degli anni 1950 e 1960: può rappresentare e sintetizzare tensioni, attese e paure dei capitani d’industria, degli scienziati sociali, dei leader e degli intellettuali dei sindacati e dei partiti delle sinistre. Dev’essere considerato come un dibattito sia generale, quale che fosse la distanza tra queste figure, sia transnazionale, avendo il suo centro d’irradiazione negli Stati Uniti e coinvolgendo Italia e Francia. I progressi tecnici nelle industrie della produzione di massa, il prender forma dei consumi di massa e del welfare, l’influenza dello Stato sugli investimenti e su tutta l’economia nazionale erano tra le tematiche discusse nella cornice del neocapitalismo. La principale contesa verteva sulle relazioni di lavoro, ovvero se questi cambiamenti implicassero il superamento delle contraddizioni fondamentali del capitalismo oppure, al contrario, una radicalizzazione e riconfigurazione del conflitto tra lavoratori e capitale. Infine, ma non ultimo, dalla risposta a queste domande dipendeva la missione (e l’autorappresentazione) delle sinistre e del movimento operaio.Déjà apparu dans les controverses sur le planisme au lendemain de la crise du 1929, le concept de « néo-capitalisme » est étroitement lié à celui de « fordisme » dans le débat des années 1950 et 1960 : il peut représenter et résumer les tensions, les espoirs et les peurs des industriels, des sociologues, des chefs et des intellectuels des syndicats et des partis de gauche. Malgré la distance entre ces figures, il faut considérer ce débat comme étant général, et aussi transnational, ayant son centre de rayonnement aux États-Unis et impliquant l’Italie et la France. Les progrès techniques dans les industries de production de masse, le développement de la consommation de masse et du welfare, l’influence de l’État sur les investissements et sur toute l’économie nationale faisaient partie des problèmes discutés dans le cadre du néo-capitalisme. La principale querelle concernait les relations industrielles, c’est-à-dire si ces changements impliquaient le dépassement des contradictions fondamentales du capitalisme ou, au contraire, une radicalisation et reconfiguration du conflit entre travailleurs et capital. Dernier point, mais non des moindres : de la réponse à ces questions dépendait la mission (et l’autoreprésentation) des Gauches et du mouvement ouvrier.Appearing already during the controversies on planning following the 1929 crack, first of all in France, the concept of “Neocapitalism” is strictly connected to “Fordism” in the 1950s and 1960s debate: it can epitomize tensions, expectations and fears of business leaders and industrialists, social scientists, leaders and intellectuals of the Unions and of the Left parties. Despite the disagreement between these figures, the debate may be regarded as both general and transnational, having its starting point in the United States and involving Italy and France. Technological changes in the mass production industries, the shaping of mass consumption and welfare, the State’s influence over investments and the whole national economy are among the issues that were discussed within the framework of Neocapitalism. The main subject of contention was whether such changes implied the overcoming of the fundamental contradictions of capitalism or, on the contrary, a radicalization and reconfiguration of the conflict between workers and capital. Last but not least, the mission (and the self-portrait) of the Left and the Labour movement depended on the answers given to these questions

Dalle origini del capitalismo all’ordinamento corporativo : Appunti sul pensiero economico e la formazione politica di Amintore Fanfani

Before rising to political prominence in the post-war Italian Republic as one of the defining leaders of the Christian Democracy, Amintore Fanfani distinguished himself as an academic economist and economic historian. Trained at the Università Cattolica in Milan, he was a pupil of its founder and rector, Agostino Gemelli. The essay examines Fanfani’s writings, starting from his dissertation, which addressed the role of religion in the origins of capitalism and discussed Marx’s and Weber’s views. In this and his following articles, reviews and books, during the thirties, Fanfani argued in favour of the subordination of economic activity to superior moral ends provided by religion. Such a ‘voluntaristic’ perspective was embodied by the corporatist experiment. Following in the footsteps of Gemelli’s proposal of an alliance between Catholicism and Fascism, Fanfani went on to support many aspects of the regime, notably its imperial wars in Africa

Auf schwankendem Grund. Dekadenz und Tod im Venedig der Moderne

Anlass des Bandes ist das Centenarium von Thomas Manns Novelle "Der Tod in Venedig" (1912), in der Gustav von Aschenbach als ein der historischen Wissenschaft verpflichteter Schriftsteller in unsicheres Terrain jenseits rationaler Begrifflichkeit gerät, ins Sehnsuchtsland der Liebe und des Schönen, und schließlich in einen Grenzbereich, in dem alles Gestaltete ins Gestaltlose und schließlich in den Tod übergeht. Venedig um 1900, die auf Wasser gebaute, einstige Seerepublik in politischer Dekadenz ist nicht zufällig dafür topisch, und Aschenbach mit seinen ethischen, ästhetischen und epistemologischen Erschütterungen in Venedig nicht allein. Venedig prägte seine eigene Moderne aus und wurde als physisch erlebter wie imaginier­ter Ort für Dichter, Maler und Musiker zum Spiegel der Krisenerfahrungen um 1900. Anders gesagt: Die Stadt fungierte als Seismograph, mit dem sich der Verlust metaphysischer Gewissheiten, der Verlust des Vertrauens in die Evidenz des Wissens, in die Einheit der Person und der Zuverlässigkeit der Sprache aufzeichnen ließ. Die Unbestimmtheit, der Kontrollverlust, die der Lagu­nenstadt eigene Bewegung ›auf schwankendem Grund‹ wird bei Thomas Mann und seinen Zeitgenossen zum Motor der Kreativität

Barbarians at the British Museum: Anglo-Saxon Art, Race and Religion

A critical historiographical overview of art historical approaches to early medieval material culture, with a focus on the British Museum collections and their connections to religion