Overview

Italy Today is a concise narrative of the nation’s stunning transformation from the ashes of World War II to the leading economic and cultural power it is today. This book provides insights into the dynamics of Italy’s progression from the Second World War, through the anthropologically revolutionary 1970s and ’80s, and into the complexities of a postindustrial nation, negotiating the challenges created by industrial, economic, and cultural globalization. Encompassing the cultural, political, and economic spectrums, topics include: communism; socialism; foreign relations; terrorism; industrial and social transformations; education; emigration and immigration; family tradition; feminism; the transformation of class and gender roles; political favoritism and corruption; popular culture; culture and civil society; the broader problems of the development of civil society and the rule of law in southern Italy; and the role of politics in shaping contemporary Italy. The book devotes particular attention to the controversial issues of the role of the family in Italian society and economy, the insidious presence of the Mafia, the lasting influence of Catholicism, the impact of television, and the country’s often unstable politics, framing all these as the result of a complex and unique relationship between the individual and the state, with the family acting as intermediary. Four major sections analyze politics, the economy, society, and mass culture, and comprise a portrait of contemporary Italy that will appeal to a broad range of scholars, students, and general readers.

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9781433101878

Table of Contents

Reviews

«Mignone's work is a serious and documented panorama of Italy since World War II that is both informative and challenging. It unravels the most complex historical and social problems by approaching them from more than one direction and by using lucid and balanced judgment.-- -- Sebastiano Martelli

Mignone's work is a serious and documented panorama of Italy since World War II that is both informative and challenging. It unravels the most complex historical and social problems by approaching them from more than one direction and by using lucid and balanced judgment. (Sebastiano Martelli, University of Salerno) Divided into four major sections devoted to an analysis of politics, economics, society, and mass culture, this volume examines a broad range of subjects such as political institutions, parliament, education, trade unions, women, family, the Church, mass culture and provides a fascinating account of Italy's overwhelming need for political reform and the repeated failure to achieve it and how Italy has coped or has failed to cope with the challenges of globalization. Mignone illustrates how the decline of Communism and Catholicism and the surge of immigration are shaping a new national identity for the new millennium. Copiously illustrated and enriched with profiles on various Italian institutions and snap-shots on aspects of Italian life, this fascinating and authoritative work is essential for anyone interested in modern and contemporary Italian society and its culture. (Marcello Saija, University of Messina) A framework that courageously builds up the dynamics that gave impetus to the profound transformation of the country. Readers will find it admirable for its mastery of the material and the sobriety of its judgments. (Giuliano Manacorda, University of Rome)

Mignone's work is a serious and documented panorama of Italy since World War II that is both informative and challenging. It unravels the most complex historical and social problems by approaching them from more than one direction and by using lucid and balanced judgment. (Sebastiano Martelli, University of Salerno) Divided into four major sections devoted to an analysis of politics, economics, society, and mass culture, this volume examines a broad range of subjects such as political institutions, parliament, education, trade unions, women, family, the Church, mass culture and provides a fascinating account of Italy's overwhelming need for political reform and the repeated failure to achieve it and how Italy has coped or has failed to cope with the challenges of globalization. Mignone illustrates how the decline of Communism and Catholicism and the surge of immigration are shaping a new national identity for the new millennium. Copiously illustrated and enriched with profiles on various Italian institutions and snap-shots on aspects of Italian life, this fascinating and authoritative work is essential for anyone interested in modern and contemporary Italian society and its culture. (Marcello Saija, University of Messina) A framework that courageously builds up the dynamics that gave impetus to the profound transformation of the country. Readers will find it admirable for its mastery of the material and the sobriety of its judgments. (Giuliano Manacorda, University of Rome)

Author Information

The Author: Mario B. Mignone is State University of New York Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of European Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and Founder and Director of the Center for Italian Studies at Stony Brook University. He is published widely in journals and is editor of Forum Italicum. Dr. Mignone is the author of Il teatro di Eduardo De Filippo: critica sociale, Anormalita e angoscia nella narrativa di Dino Buzzati, Eduardo De Filippo, and Italy Today: At the Crossroads of the New Millennium, and the editor of Pirandello in America, Columbus Meeting of Cultures, and co-editor of Homage to Moravia.

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