Description
Book SynopsisThe most passionate advocates of Italy’s unification in the nineteenth century possessed an almost limitless faith in the benefits of civic association. They also shared a common concern: once Italian unification was achieved and various freedoms were established, would ordinary Italians naturally become responsible, progressive citizens – especially after centuries of foreign rule, regional division, and economic decline? Most unification advocates doubted that their fellow citizens could form a modern, progressive civil society on their own, or that a vibrant association life would develop from the ground up.
Building a Civil Society is the first book-length English-language study of associational life in nineteenth-century Italy. Drawing on extensive research in published and unpublished documents – including associational records, newspapers, periodicals, government documents, guidebooks, exhibition catalogues, memoirs, and private letters &ndash
Trade Review
'Stimulating and very readable study' -- Roland Sart The Journal of Modern History vol 87:02:2015 'Steven Soper has provided a compelling and fascinating study on the ways in which associational life, its limits and breadth, and its weaknesses and strengths informed national discourses on civic duty and citizenship.' -- Aliza S. Wong American Historical Review, February 2015
Table of Contents
Introduction Chapter 1 - In Search of Associational Life Chapter 2 - Poetry and Prose in the Risorgimento Chapter 3 - A New Public Chapter 4 - Popular Capitalism Chapter 5 - Notable Politics Chapter 6 - The Death of a Generation Chapter 7 - Unknown Territory Conclusion
