Radical Italian Feminisms and the Contemporary Politics of Refusal

This course will assess 1970’s and 80’s radical Italian feminism as a blueprint for a new kind of networked and bodily-oriented form of political resistance. Often overlooked in favor of the French and American feminist traditions, the Italian militant tradition, a development within the workers’ movement, has recently come to be recognized as a repository of innovative tactical and theoretical responses to various forms and imprints of contemporary domination. It has clear resonances within revolutionary contestation and the politics of refusal today. Thus, the course seeks to assess the implications of radical Italian feminist movements for contemporary resistance.