Proquest Dissertations

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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9* black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI* A YOUNG DEMOCRACY UNDER SIEGE: THE ITALIAN RESPONSE TO THE STUDENT PROTESTS OF 1968 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements fi)r the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Stuart J. Hilwig, B A., M A The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee; Approved by Professor Carole Fink, Adviser Professor Claudio Fogu Professor Leila Rupp Adviser Department of History UMI Number 9982579 UMI* UMI Microform9982579 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT Thirty years after the university unrest of the late 1960s, scholars still line up on both sides of the barricades to debate the significance of the student revolts. The majority of works on the university upheavals have focused almost exclusively on the students, but few have charted the public response to unrest This dissertation deepens the historical understanding of the student movements in Western Europe by analyzing how the larger society beyond the campus reacted to the university protests. Focusing on the student demonstrations in the Republic of Italy, it examines the ways in which political leaders, the media, police, professors, workers, the church, and families embraced, rejected, or ignored the student activists. Italy had experienced a period of fascist dictatorship, military defeat, and a subsequent boom in economic growth following the Second World War. As a nation that did not have a long tradition of democratic government, Italy stands as an excellent example of how student unrest tested the boundaries of democratic culture in the 1960s. Within Italy, this wodt examines a major center of activism, the University of Turin in order to show how each experience of student unrest was a unique expression of the city’s local and national history. Based on extensive use of parliamentary records, the press, university and local archives, as well as oral interviews, ii this dissertation explores the relationship between the fascist past, class, the Cold War, and generational conflict in the popular understanding of the student revolts. Ultimately, the public’s response to student protests blended elements from the fascist past, traditional class antagonisms, and contemporary fears of the Cold War. lU To My Mother, Constance M Hilwig IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser, Dr. Carole Fink for her unfaltering support throughout my graduate career. Not only has she been one of my most insightful critics but also one of my greatest advocates. She inspired me when my dissertation seemed to overwhelm and kept my work focused when it seemed to stray. Without her assistance, this dissertation would not have been possible. I would also like to thank the members of my committee, Drs. Claudio Fogu and Leila Rupp who made many useful and encouraging suggestions during the writing of this dissertation. Much of the research for this dissertation would not have been possible without the financial assistance of a Foreign Language and Area Studies Grant from the United States’ government that supported my work in Italy in 1997. On the other side of the Atlantic, I wish to thank my fnend and sometime translator, Silvia Bossi, for encouraging me and explaining many aspects of Italian culture that cannot be found in books. Also I would like to thank the countless individuals who patiently helped me in the archives, libraries, and streets of Turin. A special thank you is also reserved for the gracious people who allowed me into their homes and lives and whose words can be found in these pages in the form of oral interviews. These people taught me that history is also to be found among the living as well as in books and documents. I would like to thank all of my friends in the Graduate History program at the Ohio State University who encouraged me and created a working and learning environment without equal. Lastly, I would like to thank my family for whom this dissertation represents only a modest return for the years of support, encouragement and inspiration they have given me. From my mother’s admonition to always “follow my heart,” to my grandmother’s love of history and literature, to my two brothers’ insights from art, philosophy, and popular culture, this work is also a reflection of them. VI VITA July 12,1968................................................Bom—Salem, Massachusetts 1991...............................................................B.A. History, Vanderbilt University 1994...............................................................M A History, The Ohio State University 1995-Present ................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS ‘The Revolt against the Establishment: Students versus the Press in West Germany and Italy,” in Carole Fink, Philipp Gassert, and Detlef Junker, eds. 1968: The World Trcmrformed (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998), 321-349. “Le reazioni della stampa e dei politici agli studenti nel Sessantotto,” trans. Silvia Bossi in Per il Sessantotto: Bolietino diricerche e tnemorie, bibliogrqfie, critiche e documentazione su awenimenti, culture, pratiche alternative e idéologie attomo al 1968. Centro di Documentazione di Pistoia (Spring 1998): 2- 12. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: History Minor Fields: Modem European History Latin American History European International History vu TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ...................................................................................................................ii Dedication............................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments................................................................................................... v Vita..........................................................................................................................vii List of Figures.........................................................................................................x Chapters 1. Introduction........................................................................................................... 1 2. The Italian Student Revolts, 1967-68 ................................................................... 12 The Roots of the Crisis: The Italian University and Society since 1945.......12 The University and City Besieged, 1966-68 ................................................. 20 Traditional Values under Attack; The Counterculture in Italy, 1965-1968...38 3. The Case of Turin I: Defending the Ivory Tower.................................................. 51 4. The Case of Turin H: A City Reacts from Precinct to Parish.................................80 The Police: “Children of the poor” or “Just following orders”?.....................82 The Workers: A Separate Path to Revolution................................................ 94 The Church: Caught between Obedience and Understanding ....................... Ill 5. The National Dimension I: Constructing an Image of Protest............................. 116 The Students as “Lefr-wing Ascists”........................................................... 120 viii The Students as Figures of Ridicule.............................................................. 128 6. The National Dimension II: Italy’s Politicians Confront the Issue of University Reform............................................................................ 140 7. Conclusion................................................................................................167 Bibliography.................................................................................................179 Appendix A: Figures..................................................................................... 188 IX LISTOFnGURES APPENDIX A Figure 1: The University Besieged............................................................... 189 Figure 2: The Battle of the

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