The weight of the printed word : : text, context and militancy in Operaismo / / Steve Wright.

• Superior document: Historical Materialism Book Series ; Volume 234
• VerfasserIn: Wright, Steve, 1958-
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Historical materialism book series ; Volume 234.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

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 workers' 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.

Table of Contents

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 -- Part 1 The Workers' Enquiry and Co-research -- Introduction to Part 1 -- 4 The Fiat Workers' Enquiry of 1960-61: Setting the Scene -- 5 The Fiat Workers' Enquiry of 1960-61: What Actually Happened? -- 6 The Meaning of the Workers' 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 'Economic Miracle' -- 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 Assemblea's Document Work -- 13 A Short Addendum on Pamphlets -- Part 4 Potere Operaio -- Introduction to Part 4 -- 14 Debating Organisation in Print: Potop 1969-71 -- 15 Other Elements of Potere Operaio's Genre Repertoire -- 16 Two Brief Interludes: 'In Praise of Illegal Work' and 'Sotto la Mole' -- 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 Operaio's Press and Organisation -- 19 'The Measures Taken' -- 20 Position Papers and Discussion Documents -- Part 6 'Dites-le avec des pavés!' Autonomist Newspapers and the Challenge of Radio -- Introduction to Part 6 -- 21 The Best Re(a)d Paper in Autonomia? -- 22 Senza Tregua - A Brief and Unhappy Existence? -- 23 'A Paper That Speaks, a Radio That Writes': I Volsci and the Impact of Radio on the Printed Word -- Part 7 Journals in a Minor Key -- Introduction to Part 7 -- 24 'The Firebrands of Porto Marghera' -- 25 'There Is No Housework in Marx' -- Conclusion: Print, Document Work, and Class Politics -- Glossary -- References -- Index.