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Michela Nacci

University of L’Aquila, Italy
The character of democracies. Essay on Gustave de Beaumont
01 November 2012 - 31 July 2013
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After obtaining a Degree in History of Philosophy at the University of Florence, Michaela Nacci received a PhD in History and Civilisation at the EUI (Fiesole). She has been a CNR and CNR-NATO researcher at EHESS in Paris, a Jean Monnet fellow at the IUE, and visiting professor at the University of Metz. She teaches History of Political Thought at L’Aquila University and lives in Florence, Italy.

In 1998, she was awarded the Anna Maria Battista Prize for her book La barbarie del comfort. Il modello di vita americano nella cultura francese del Novecento (Milan, Guerini, 1996). She has also published: L'antiamericanismo in Italia negli anni Trenta (Turin, Bollati Boringhieri, 1989); Pensare la tecnica. Un secolo di incomprensioni (Rome and Bari, Laterza, 2000); Politiche della tecnica. Immagini, ideologie, narrazioni (Genoa, Name, 2005); Storia culturale della Repubblica (Milan, Bruno Mondadori, 2009); and Figure del liberalsocialismo (Florence, CET, 2009), alongside a number of essays on contemporary political ideologies. She is currently writing a book on the political thought of Bertrand Russell.

Gustave de Beaumont disappeared soon from the scene. It is not exaggerated to classify him as an unknown or, rather, a misunderstood author, because the few interpretations of his work lacked pertinence. In Beaumont’s opera clearly arises a major theme: the relationship superior-inferior, dominator-dominated or master-slave. Beaumont discusses three national cases in these terms: the case of United States, with the black-white relationship; the case of Ireland, with the Irish-British relationship; the case of Algeria, with the Arabian-French relationship. He deals with these cases, in a non-homogeneous way, in the light of the conceptual couple law-customs.

Our research aims at analyzing two key Beaumont topics – the national character and the road to democracy – evidently connected one to the other: traditional societies can change to democracies only if they are not determined by their own proper individuality. The two topics are linked to the main concern of Beaumont, which emerges from his work and activity: the praise of politics.

Talk by Michela Nacci (Paris IAS fellow)
17 Jun 2013 13:45 -
17 Jun 2013 13:45,
Paris :
Aux origines de l’anti-américanisme français
Talk by Michela Nacci (Paris IAS fellow)
06 Jun 2013 16:00 -
06 Jun 2013 16:00,
Parme :
Democrazia
Workshop organized by Michela Nacci (Paris IAS fellow)
05 Jun 2013 10:00 -
05 Jun 2013 18:00,
Paris :
Âmes nationales et démocratie. A partir de Gustave de Beaumont
24 Nov 2012 09:00 -
24 Nov 2012 13:00,
Milan :
Simpatia, cooperazione, amicizia. Il pacifismo di Bertrand Russell
374
2012-2013
Contemporary period (1789-…)