COME RACCONTARE LA CLASSE OPERAIA SENZA FARE GLI OPERAI TRISTI/HOW TO NARRATE THE WORKING CLASS WITHOUT BEING SAD WORKERS

Abstract

The paper presents essential facets of the contemporary history of working-class literature, discussing the role that class consciousness plays in the creation and interpretation of international literature. In particular, the author presents several writers who crucially contribute to the study of ethnic and working-class cultures in Europe and other parts of the world, in the hope that attention to their writings will bring about a greater awareness of literature's power to illuminate culture. By exploiting texts’ cultural differences rather than tracing their similarities, the paper problematizes the notion of working class unity, troubled by competing understandings. Although hardly imaginable, the article presents a time and space where intellectuals were actually concerned with understanding the development of the working class.

Keywords:

Capitalism, Working Class, literature, Political Imagery.