Marxism and Historiography

Eminent Italian historian Giovanni Levi once notably remarked that no one is a Marxist anymore, pointing to a paradox in Italian cultural history. While what is called "Marxism" was supposedly hegemonic over Italian culture, and especially history writing, for decades in the postwar period, it then seems to have suddenly disappeared.

This study questions such a vision of a monolithic and hegemonic Marxism. It starts from the most effective anecdote to all ideologising narrativesthat is, research into the texts themselves. It sees the Marxist historiography of the post-1945 period as a "history in the making," in which references to Marxian theory were a fundamental factor driving historiographical innovation. This allows the book to bring to light a highly original experience in the development of historiography, based on the long Italian tradition of reflection on historical knowledge.

Systematically addresses issues arising from a Marxist theory of history Uniquely combines theoretical reflection and concrete historiographical analyses Investigates how theory gets modified over time in relation to the practice of doing historiography

Autorentext

Paolo Favilli is retired Professor of Contemporary History and the Theory of Historical Research at Genoa University, Italy, where he is also former Director of the Department of Humanistic Studies. His main research focus is the history of Marxism, to which he has devoted numerous essays and volumes, including Il socialismo italiano e la teoria economica di Marx (1892-1902) (1980), Herausgabe und Verbreitung del Werke von Karl Marx und Friedrich Engels in Italien (1988), Storia del marxismo italiano. Dalle origini alla grande guerra (1996), Marxismo e storia. Saggio sull'innovazione storiografica in Italia (2006), and Il marxismo e le sue storie (2016). His latest study, A proposito de 'Il capitale'..., Il lungo presente e I miei studenti. Corso di storia contemporanea will be released in 2021.

Klappentext

Eminent Italian historian Giovanni Levi once notably remarked that no one is a Marxist anymore, pointing to a paradox in Italian cultural history. While what is called "Marxism" was supposedly hegemonic over Italian culture, and especially history writing, for decades in the postwar period, it then seems to have suddenly disappeared. This study questions such a vision of a monolithic and hegemonic Marxism. It starts from the most effective anecdote to all ideologising narratives that is, research into the texts themselves. It sees the Marxist historiography of the post-1945 period as a "history in the making," in which references to Marxian theory were a fundamental factor driving historiographical innovation. This allows the book to bring to light a highly original experience in the development of historiography, based on the long Italian tradition of reflection on historical knowledge.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Historiographical Marxism.- Chapter 3: Long-term Routes, Underground Routes.- Chapter 4: Delio Cantimori's Problematic Lesson in Marxism.- Chapter 5: A Common Innovating Drive, In Italy and in Europe.- Chapter 6: A Programme for the new history.- Chapter 7: Economic History as Social History.- Chapter 8: The History of Capitalism.- Chapter 9: Conclusion.