The Department of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Milan, in cooperation with the Feltrinelli Foundation, is glad to announce the

International Conference in honor of Alessandro Pizzorno

The collective action between identity and representation.
Movements, interest organizations, parties

Milan, 19-20 November 2019

Alessandro Pizzorno was, in the second post-war period, the most influential and universally appreciated Italian sociologist. With the great researches on the workers' struggles that he directed in the 70s and the many successive analyses on the themes of identity and recognition, of social capital, of representation, democracy and power, he acquired a vast international profile and contributed decisively to the prestige of Italian sociology and political science. The theme of this conference is a broad one, which has characterized Pizzorno's work in particular in the periods in which he worked and carried out empirical research in Milan, the venue of the conference. The thematization of the relationships between collective identities and representation dates back to his late 1970s essays. "When a mass of individuals having common interests, previously excluded from the representation system, find themselves in favorable conditions to conduct a collective action aimed at obtaining recognition of their identity and therefore the right to be represented, the resulting conflict tends to be more intense ... The real purpose to be achieved is the recognition of the new identity, which is itself non-negotiable, constituting the premise of every negotiation" (A. Pizzorno, "Le due logiche dell'azione di classe", in A. Pizzorno et al. Lotte operaie e sindacato: il ciclo 1968-1972 in Italia, Il Mulino 1978, p. 13). While it dates back to thirty years later his analysis of the relations between social movements, parties and the State, which leads Pizzorno to rethink the concepts of democracy and the modern state "as expressing the consequences of the meeting of two differentiated historical itineraries": a guiding idea that runs through the number of the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation's Annals edited by him (A. Pizzorno, La democrazia di fronte allo Stato, 2010).

The first four sessions of the conference are based on reports by renowned scholars who have long interacted intellectually with Pizzorno and have had it as a solid scientific and cultural reference. In the last session, reports by young scholars are presented, selected through a call for papers, in order to highlight the legacy of Pizzorno's work and its potential for younger generations of social scientists.

The full program can be downloaded below.

The attendance of the second part of the conference, on November 20 (h. 9.00 - Sala Lauree, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Via Conservatorio 7 - Milan), is compulsory for NASP first-year students.

Program
Wednesday, 20 November 2019, h. 9.00
Sala Lauree - Facoltà SPES - Via Conservatorio, 7 – Milano

Introduction by Antonio Chiesi (Director Department of Social and Political Sciences)

III session. Identity, collective action and politics (in English)

Speakers: Colin Crouch (Warwick University) and Sidney Tarrow (Cornell University)

Discussants: Mario Diani (University of Trento), Alberto Martinelli and Bianca Beccalli (University of Milan)

IV session. Representation and democracy in the contemporary world (in English)

Speakers: Suzanne Berger (MIT) and Philippe Schmitter (European University Institute)

Discussants: Maurizio Ferrera (University of Milan) and Simona Piattoni (University of Trento)

V session. L'attualità del pensiero di Pizzorno nella ricerca sociale contemporanea (in Italian)

Speakers: Riccardo Chesta (Scuola Normale Superiore) and Gemma Scalise (University of Bergamo)

Discussants: Gabriele Ballarino (University of Milan) and Luciano Fasano (University of Milan)