The Damned · Algeria, antifascism, and Third Worldism: An anticolonial genealogy of the Western European New Left (Algeria, France, Italy, 1957-1975)
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-01-20 → 2023-01-19
- EU contribution
- €221,605
- Participants
- 3
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Algeria, antifascism, and Third Worldism: An anticolonial genealogy of the Western European New Left (Algeria, France, Italy, 1957-1975)
Breaking with current interpretations, THE DAMNED is the first study to reframe the European political geography to include the (post)colonial space and to reassess the historical influence of the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) – and Third Worldism more generally – in the genealogy of the new political cultures that flourished during the ‘long 1960s’, associating a renewed antifascism with anticolonial struggles. Bringing together disciplines and methodologies from across a number of humanities and social sciences, THE DAMNED has produced a case study (focusing on Algeria, France and Italy) setting out new approaches to understanding the emerging of the New Left (mid-1950s to mid-1970s) as a complex process encompassing local, national and transnational dynamics; a process shaped by, but also shaping, decolonisation. The goal was to contribute – at least – to complicating the Western narrative of the global 1960s, by shifting the focus from Berkeley and Paris to Algiers. THE DAMNED was carried out in Algeria, with a secondment in France and a return phase in Italy. Working with leading experts in each of these countries, THE DAMNED developed a truly transnational, interdisciplinary network exploring anew the global 1960s. By means of an extensive oral history project interviewing anticolonial activists, THE DAMNED created a repository of sources for researchers. THE DAMNED reached the most of its objectives as laid down in the Description of the Action, including: the organisation of a seminar, an international conference and other events; a project website and a conference website; several outreach activities; and the publication or preparation of 1 monograph, 8 articles published in scientific journals (3 peer-reviewed), 3 edited volumes, 1 peer-reviewed book chapter, 7 dictionary entries, 5 reviews.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
THE DAMNED proposes a new study of the genealogy of the New Left in Western Europe from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. Breaking with current interpretations, the project reframes the European political geography to include the (post)colonial space, and reassesses the historical influence of the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) – and Third Worldism more generally – in the genealogy of the new political cultures that flourished during the ‘long 1960s’, associating a renewed antifascism with anticolonial struggles. Bringing together disciplines and methodologies from across a number of humanities and social sciences, THE DAMNED will produce a case study (focusing on Algeria, France and Italy) setting out new approaches to understanding the emerging of the New Left as a complex process encompassing local, national and transnational dynamics; a process shaped by, but also shaping, decolonisation. The goal is to contribute – at least – to complicating the Western narrative of the global 1960s, by shifting the focus from Berkeley and Paris to Algiers. THE DAMNED is to be carried out mostly in Algeria, with a secondment in France and a return phase in Italy. Working with leading experts in each of these countries, the aim is to develop a truly transnational, interdisciplinary network exploring anew the global 1960s. By means of an extensive oral history project interviewing anticolonial activists, THE DAMNED will create a repository of sources for researchers, with a selection of interviews accessible online. THE DAMNED has been designed to ensure a mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge between the researcher and the third country (Algeria): ‘The challenge is to improve the design of cultural experiences by enhancing participatory and collaborative approaches and by fostering mutual cultural understanding and resilient strategies’, as stated in the H2020 Work Programme 2018–20.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union