The History and Memory of 1968 in Italy by Rosaria Carbotti a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Satisfa

Of Ghosts and Survivors: The History and Memory of 1968 in Italy By Rosaria Carbotti A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Italian Studies and the Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory and the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Barbara Spackman, Chair Professor Mia Fuller Professor Linda Williams Fall 2015 Abstract Of Ghosts and Survivors: The History and Memory of 1968 in Italy by Rosaria Carbotti Doctor of Philosophy in Italian Studies and the Designated Emphasis in Critical Theory and the Designated Emphasis in Film Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Barbara Spackman, Chair The year 1968 saw the rise of a manifold protest movement among Italian university students that evolved well into the late 1970s and spread to all segments of society. Today, the memory of this collective experience represents one of the most haunting episodes of the 20th century. Torn between celebrating national events and giving in to cultural amnesia, the Italian cultural discourse around ’68 appears deliberately opaque. In recent historiography, fiction, and film this momentous year appears to be condensed in a puzzle of contrasting snapshots that do not fit well together. On one hand, it is remembered as a watershed event that altered the course of the nation’s history and the lives of individuals in radical ways. On the other hand, many ’68 storytellers mourn the complete erasure of their experience from contemporary culture and criticize the moral wasteland that is associated with the current political arena when contrasted with the vanished hopes of the past. From Luisa Passerini to Guido Viale, from Erri De Luca to Giovanni Moro, a generation of protagonists and witnesses of those times raise through their work a number of urgent questions that deal with issues of periodization, selective perception, genealogical inheritance, and a paralyzing feeling of melancholia. Such questions do not seem to find answers within traditional historical or sociological approaches. At the same time, these accounts pose problems of their own, as they reflect a desire to simultaneously preserve and shatter the memory of 1968 as it has come to be celebrated in popular culture. My dissertation is in dialogue with a vast intellectual constellation that encompasses historical, theoretical, literary, and cinematic readings of 1968. As I investigate the existing narrative production around the ’68 phenomenon, I question what lies at the heart of the possessive forms of memory that have come to characterize our present approach to that time. In doing so, I challenge the current widespread view that sees possessive memory as an obstacle to a proper understanding of the past. On the contrary, I argue that it is precisely by looking closer at the stumbling blocks that seem to hinder the flow of historical narrative surrounding ’68 that we might get at the core of our collective attachment to that time, a bond that is shaped by the labor of forces and emotions that cannot yet be put to rest. My research pays particular attention 1 to the ways in which the memory of ’68 has been defiantly organized at the narrative level as an attempt to resist periodization. Thus, I interpret such resistance as a way to protract the presence of ’68 beyond its temporal confines and ultimately deny the symbolic death of a groundbreaking collective experience. Through the analysis of the narrative figuration of the ghost, I explore the ways in which melancholia — the feeling of painful attachment to a lost ideal — can be taken to be an affirmative disposition that originates a form of critical agency on the part of the ’68 storytellers. The imperative need “to begin with oneself” — to impose the primacy of subjective affect, understanding one’s involvement in social phenomena as the merging of individual and collective expression — becomes a melancholic act of rebellion against the objectifying discourse of history. From this perspective, I take 1968 to be reactivated as a temporal category against which the present needs to be questioned in order for a future to be imagined anew. 2 A PJ e Flora i TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii INTRODUCTION The Year Time Came Unbound v CHAPTER ONE 1968, Memory and the Persistence of Hope Section 1. Unreliable Narrators: Defining the Story of a Generation 1 Section 2. A History Teeming with Feelings: The Continuing Resonance of Past Hopes 23 CHAPTER TWO In Defense of Melancholia: The Call of the ’68 Ghosts Section 1. The Ethics of Ghosts 37 Section 2. Haunted by ’68: Loss, Melancholia and Resistance 40 Section 3. Writing in the Presence of Ghosts: Erri De Luca 53 CHAPTER THREE Surviving ’68: Memory as a Site of Resistance Section 1. Intimate Epics of Collective Survival: Guido Viale and Luisa Passerini 69 Section 2. A Circle is Closed: The Memories of Children 84 CHAPTER FOUR Before and After Controinchieste: Memory, Trauma, and Collective Subjects Section 1. Introduction 102 Section 2: A Call to Arms: Political Documentaries and their Audiences 104 Section 3. Remembering the Resistance: Political Documentaries after Neorealism 108 Section 4. Controinchieste: From Budding Collective Dreams to Cultural Traumas 116 Section 5. A Martyr for the New Resistance: The Case of Carlo Giuliani 125 Bibliography 134 Filmography 151 ii Acknowledgements This dissertation is the outcome of six years of passionate research, teaching and learning within the vibrant academic community of UC Berkeley, to which I am immensely grateful for offering me a unique opportunity for intellectual and personal growth. I am first and foremost thankful to the Italian Studies Department, which welcomed me to its PhD program at a time when I was very committed to my scholarly work, but lacked the confidence and thorough preparation I aspired to. My work and my view of the world have evolved much beyond the scope of my initial hopes thanks to the seminars and conferences I participated in, the classes I taught, the lectures I attended, the hours I spent in the library, and the many informal conversations with my mentors and colleagues. My dissertation would never have seen the light of day without the unwavering support of my committee. My advisor Barbara Spackman was a role model throughout my many years at Berkeley, and I have benefited immensely from her guidance and support. Her brilliant scholarship, her generosity, and her work ethic have set very high standards that I will try to live up to wherever the future will take me. I was inspired to pursue film studies by Prof. Linda Williams, whose own work and seminars showed me what it means to combine true passion with rigorous and provocative research. I am very thankful to her for always pushing me to do better, believe in myself, and reach for the stars. I am also grateful to Prof. Mia Fuller for teaching me the methodology and value of a rigorous historical approach and coaching me on how to develop my own authoritative voice as a scholar. Outside of my committee, I have benefited from Prof. Albert Ascoli’s guidance and advice through the good and bad times that are part of the PhD experience. I am grateful for his belief in my abilities both as a scholar and as an editor, and for investing in my work by involving me in different research and publishing projects. Among these projects, I have especially fond memories of my years as a Managing Editor for California Italian Studies. Working with Prof. John Marino, Prof. Deanna Shemek, and Dr. Regina Longo has taught me so much about the uncommon talent it takes to be a cutting-edge scholar and editor. Prof. Alessia Ricciardi has a special place in my heart for her long-standing support of my work and her steadfast belief in my potential. Her provocative, original, powerful work continues to be one of my primary sources of inspiration. I also want to thank Prof. Tony Kaes, Prof. Mark Sandberg, and Prof. Martin Jay for their brilliance and generosity as my mentors during my years at Berkeley. I am thankful to the Designated Emphasis Program in Critical Theory, to Prof. Judith Butler, and to the Berkeley Language Center for investing in me and providing generous grants to support my research, while also offering stimulating opportunities for my intellectual education. During my time as a Fellow at the Berkeley Language Center, I have met and become a close friend of Annamaria Bellezza, an extraordinary teacher, a wonderful human being and an inspiring mentor both within and outside of academia. The Berkeley Language Center directors, Mark Kaiser and Prof. Rick Kern, were also incredibly generous and helpful with me and made me feel like I was part of a great extended family. This project would never have been possible without the constant, loving presence of my family of friends, scattered throughout the world. All my love and gratitude go to Zed Miscea, the first and fiercest advocate of my happiness, and to Marilù Lodi. Thanks to Lucio Galliano for his loyal friendship, his sense of humor, and for always having my best interest at heart. Thanks to my dearest friends Giulio Macaione, Elena Punginelli, and Fadia Dakka for accompanying me iii down the long path that led to this PhD and for their many kindnesses large and small. Thanks to Eliya Selhub and Laura Kavanagh for being my brother and sister in the United States of America. A big, big thank you to the Barry family for welcoming me as one of their own and gifting me with so many amazing nephews and nieces. A special thank you to my soul sister Deborah Paredez.

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