Carnivalesque and Charivari Repertoires in 1960s and 1970s Italian Protest

Favretto, Ilaria; Fincardi, Marco

doi:10.1057/978-1-137-50737-2_8

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Finally, the attribution of negative qualities to authority figures provided a way for the workers to challenge them and to overturn power relations within the factory, if only symbolically. The crude, folksy language and abundant animal metaphors employed by workers in their insults drew heavily on Carnivalesque vocabulary, which had traditionally functioned as a powerful instrument of disparagement, derision and humiliation, as had carnival rituals and practices (Favretto & Fincardi, 2017).…”

Section: The Power Of Renamingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toilets and resistance in Italian factories in the 1950s

Favretto

2019

Labor History

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In the literature on industrial conflict, the Italy of the 1950s is often described as marked by worker acquiescence and an absence of conflict, ensured by high unemployment and the severe repression of union activism. My research challenges this. While formal, organized collective action subsided, workers continued to show their defiance and opposition to factory authorities by means of diverse acts of individual resistance that have escaped scholarly study. Drawing on anthropological theory, particularly Scott's notion of 'weapons of the weak'the strategies used by subordinate classes when facing heavy repression or lack of resourcesthis article undertakes an innovative analysis of the use of insults, irreverent behaviour, rumours and mockery of foremen and bosses to undermine the authority and legitimacy of factory hierarchies. It casts new light on the protest cultures and practices of Italian workers in the 1950s and improves our understanding of post-1945 industrial conflict.

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Section: The Power Of Renamingmentioning

confidence: 99%