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Colin Jones' volume reconstructs the day of 9 Thermidor in Paris, a crucial date marking the end of the period of the so-called Terror and the opening of a new political phase, that of the Directory. Jones uses an engaging technique, recounting the life of the city during those twenty-four hours in detail, with each chapter addressing one hour of that day. This article examines the benefits and limitations of this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The collection of texts edited by Leonardo Rapone on the intellectual itinerary of Rosario Villari offers an opportunity to reflect on the path of a historian of great importance in Italian intellectual life in the second half of the 20th century. It is a text that not only identifies Villari’s contribution to the national intellectual debate and to the Southern Question, but it also discusses his specific interpretative contribution to the history of the Kingdom of Naples, and in particular to the 17th century and Masaniello’s revolt, from the publication of La rivolta antispagnola a Napoli in 1967 to Un sogno di libertà in 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Espacio, Tiempo y Forma. Serie IV, Historia Moderna is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Enzo Traverso's new book on the revolutions that took place in the two centuries between the storming of the Bastille and the fall of the Berlin Wall is an attempt to apply Walter Benjamin's evocative methodology to the subject. More than revolutions, therefore, the book deals with its representations, which are images but then also memories and texts, in a vaguely nostalgic kaleidoscope of memories and perceptions. Extremely rich and intelligent, Traverso's work does not, however, address the crucial nodes that stem from that history, does not fully come to terms with the Bolshevik tradition and avoids placing the decisive issue of historical truth at the centre of the argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay, working between history and social sciences, tries to define the essence of those collective figures that represent evil: from witches to Assassins, from Thugs to mafiosi and terrorists. These are changing figures that move in the collective imagination and drag with them the narratives of evil symbolically characterized and, so to speak, condensed through a process, often politically characterized, aimed at the production of social types. They are therefore what we might call «typified symbolic configurations». The social sciences, however, do not seem to have offered interpretative models suitable for conceptualizing them. Therefore, to understand their nature, it may be useful to turn to history and go back to those processes of identification and repression that have configured them; and also, to the transformations undergone over time through which it is possible to follow their often tumultuous evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter discusses three recent monographs (by M. Bucciantini, M. Manfredi and E. Papadia) that offer new insight on the Italian anarchist movement of the late 19th century. They do so by reconsidering its cultural dimensions, with particular emphasis on questions of identity, propaganda, and myths and symbols. In so doing, they draw on the historiographical trend currently in fashion in the Anglophone world, known as the history of emotions. The chapter highlights the concrete advantages of this approach in the question of Italian anarchist radicalism, along with its limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Author focuses on literary construction of Mafia's Myth; from the Spanish origin in Cervantes to the 'setta' of Beati Paoli and the Invention of Tradition of Cosa Nostra in 20th Century. The article demonstrates that reality and fiction are part of a unique strategy of social construction of Consensus and Legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the relationship between photography and history of Venice, Italy including historiography, origins of municipalities of Paris, France and socialist revolutions. Topics include introduction to revolution and caesarism, political exiles and impact of bombing of the neighborhoods.

This short text introduces the essays that are part of this monographic issue, entitled Politics and crime in 19th century Italy. The three essays investigate the topic through different approaches, by analyzing the figures of brigands (Tatasciore), patriots of the Risorgimento (Di Fiore), and anarchists (Grasso). All the essays tackle the theme of the social construction of crime and political identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Societa e Storia is the property of FrancoAngeli srl and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This forum discusses a book that identifies, in its very subtitle, an alternative history in opposition to the dominant «storytelling» on the French nineteenth century. The book's focus is on figures such as the vanquished, the anonymous, the forgotten of official history, women, colonial subjects, slaves, workers, and the proto-proletariat organized in the Parisian sections of 1789. The actual proletariat would find its expression in the 1848 Ateliers Nationaux of the workers, especially in Paris and in large urban centers, to which the Author dedicates rich and passionate pages. At the core of the volume, therefore, there is the people and its associations, which claim their rights to emancipation and democratic participation. Re-thinking «the people» leads, for the Author, to a new form of history-writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on politics and organized crime in the first twenty years of united Italy. Topics discussed include the book "La mala setta: Alle origini di mafia e camorra 1859-1878," by Francesco Benigno on organized crime during the period; how the politics and organized crime was depicted in the film "Indagine su un Cittadino al di sopra di ogni" and whether the crime and social order and police behavior was a reality during the period of the unified state formation.

Copyright of Mediterranea - Ricerche Storiche is the property of Mediterranea-Ricerche Storiche and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This essay investigates the significance that historical repetition had for people living during the French Revolution. The aim is to assess to what extent the idea that events might repeat themselves in the future influenced the historical actors of the time. After a brief analysis of the two main models used to understand historical repetition, those of Chateaubriand and Marx, and a critical review of how historical repetition has been treated in the historiographical literature, we discuss the sociological category of the self-fulfilling prophecy as a tool to understand the arguments put forward by historical actors. From an analysis of the debates on the likelihood of past events repeating themselves, which took place at crucial times during the French revolutionary process, we reach the conclusion that what these instances are not self-fulfilling prophecies. We show how these arguments may be viewed as attempts to assess the probability of a given event, but also as performative tools capable of influencing the outcome of a situation and in some way, unexpectedly, «constructing» it. We conclude that the concept of historical repetition had a much greater bearing on the French Revolution than it has so far been supposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annales: Histoire, Sciences Sociales is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An introduction to the journal is presented on the proceedings of the Italian history conference of the "Storica" journal, held in Trento, Italy from October 11 to 13, 2012.

The article discusses the history of political conflicts of the 17th century, with reference to the work "Sei Rivoluzioni Contemporanee," by Roger Bigelow Merriman. Topics discussed include the concept of revolution and the impossibility of predicting or reconstructing the history of revolutions, the shifting nature of social structure and institutions, with reference to socioeconomic and political factors, and the history of revolution in France, Italy, and Spain in the 17th century, with reference to the concept of coups d'etat.

The article discusses the presentation of studies of the history of Antiquity in Italian historical periodicals. Reference is made to changes in the field of studies of Antiquity in Italy which occurred in the 1970s. Topics discussed include the relationship between the history of Italy and the Italian study of Antiquity, the influence of particular personalities such as 20th century Italian journal editor Arnaldo Momigliano, and the use of symbols of Antiquity in Italian Fascist rhetoric and propaganda.

The article discusses historical perspectives on the phenomenon of the Thugs, gangs of robbers in India in the first half of the 19th century, with reference to the relationship between the historical evidence and the commonly accepted historical narrative, and the process of transformation of historical discourse and historical narratives on social identity. Topics discussed include legends of the Thugs, portrayed as devotees of the Hindu goddess Kali; histories of the Thugs and descriptions of the members of this group, and historiographical deconstruction of the traditionally held view of the Thugs.

The article discusses the history of the French Revolution, with a focus on the history of the red Phrygian hat as a symbol of revolution and political freedom. Topics discussed include background on the history of the Phrygian cap, and its red color, as a symbol of the French Revolution; the history of the liberty hat and its development as an international symbol representing freedom, and the history and analysis of symbols as concrete elements of political expression and rhetoric which develop over time.