The historical conditions for the emergence of youth in Italian society

Alessandro L.

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The historical conditions for the emergence of youth in Italian society

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Abstract

To analyze history is to delve into a world of a complex mixture of social, political, economic, and technological interaction. Indeed, it is these elements that define and furthermore provide some form of a substantive characterization of the civilizations and societal structures that have evolved and manipulated a constantly transforming world order . These structures exist with the ultimate purpose of progressing and evolving towards the future. To deny this is to deny the very essence of the individual and its quest for personal development, exemplified in the fact that human beings have undergone, and furthermore actively undergo in their own lives, a process of evolution. To evolve, therefore, is to move forward through time. Embedded deep within the context of historical analysis lays the ability to not only absorb the lessons of the past in the hope of properly applying them in the future, but also a framework through which to understand the present. Perhaps the most penetrating manifestation of this can be found in an examination of the youth and the promise that their progressive transformation offers for the future.

Introduction.
1. A world of a complex mixture of social, political, economic, and technological interaction.
2. The ability to not only absorb the lessons of the past but also a framework through which to understand the present.
The 'third world'.
1. An element of society that is distinct in its composition.
2. The process of progress and reform.
3. The beginning of an unprecedented and unmatched period of economic and social revival.
The student movements of 1968.
1. The impact of the movement.
2. The expansion of student enrollment in universities throughout the 60's.
3. Attempts at offering greater and wider access as a means to advance the intellectual enlightenment.
4. The framework from which an assessment of the youth protest of the past can be applied to the current societal crisis.
Conclusion.

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[...] Twentieth Century Italy: A Social History. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education Limited Heywood, Andrew. Political Ideologies: An Introduction. 4th ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Ian, Fisher. "In a Funk, Italy Sings an Aria of Disappointment." The New York Times 13 Dec Dec < http:>. Lumley, Robert. States of Emergency: Cultures of Revolt in Italy from 1968 to 1978. London: Verso McCarthy, Patrick. Short Oxford History of Italy: Italy Since 1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press Sassoon, Donald. [...]

[...] Robert Lumley, author of States of Emergency: Cultures of Revolt in Italy from 1968 to 1978, explains that in 1968-9 “Italy experienced an ‘organic crisis', in which there was a massive withdrawal of support for the structures of representation, and an abrupt increase in political demands[12].” The transformation of Italian society outpaced the growth within specific institutions such as universities, factories, and government in general. The student movement itself “came to represent and symbolize new forms of rebellion and discontent and arose in a period of relative growth[13].” The impact of the movement can be found in the fact that it marked the first time that students emerged as social subject in their own right[14].” While previously they had acted in a supportive and subordinate capacity, they now asserted not only their transformation, but their numerical importance[15]. [...]

[...] Attempts at offering greater and wider access as a means by which to advance the intellectual enlightenment of the society as a whole contributed to the development of further tensions within the system, for they clashed with the elements that had yet to be reformed, such as the physical structures of education facilities, the need for greater availability of professors, and a more comprehensive curriculum.[19] The abolition of university entrance exams in 1965 added more complexity to the situation as well, for its purpose had been to grant more opportunities to enroll, but did not take into account the systemic shortcomings, and failed to adequately anticipate the explosion of enrollment, as noted above[20]. [...]

[...] The mere fact that politics is dominated by men such as Romano Prodi and Silvio Berlusconi speaks to the generational divide. According to Fisher, generational problem is the Italian problem[30],” for it strains the potential to mold the future based on the needs of those who will occupy it. The protest of 1968 strove to correct that, and left the legacy of youth as a new and permanent force in Italian society with an eye always on what the future holds in store, for that is the only way to see beyond the cynicism of today. Works Cited Dunnage, Jonathan. [...]

[...] Youth have come to encompass a “third an element of society that is distinct in its composition and is marked by a “category of people which exhibits specific economic, political and cultural characteristics and which have in common the fact of ‘being young[3].'” Yet, their emergence as such is a feature of the broad cultural transformation following the end of the Second World War, as societies strove to not only recover and rehabilitate, but remold themselves along new lines vastly different from their pre-1945 structure, a structure that had permitted death and destruction to plague the European continent[4]. [...]

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