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Cosmos

The Centre on Social Movement Studies

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COSMOS Share

Through the COSMOS Share, members of the COSMOS community can share their research and help each other through constructive feedback. The format is simple: one hour of informal, rigorous academic discussion, two times a month. About  ten days before the meeting COSMOS Share presenters should send to Andrea Pirro and Lorenzo Cini (the COSMOS Share organizers) a draft of the document they will discuss, so that he can share it with those interested in reading it and attending the session.

The making of a common woman figure: Convergence and struggle of visual practices around Gezi’s icon – M. Ragip Zik, Free University Berlin

Date: 03/04/2019

Place: 5pm - Aula Filippo Strozzi, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

5pm – Aula Simone del Pollaiolo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi

 

What Do Social Movements Do inside Parliament? – Federico Rossi, Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)

Date: 07/02/2019

Place: 5pm - Aula Simone del Pollaiolo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

5pm – Aula Simone del Pollaiolo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi

 

Anti-Neoliberal Populisms in Comparative Perspective: A Framework for Analysis – Enrico Padoan, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Date: 16/01/2019

Place: 5pm - Aula Simone del Pollaiolo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

5pm – Aula Simone del Pollaiolo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze

 

Populism and Popular Music – Manuela Caiani, Scuola Normale Superiore

Date: 12/12/2018

Place: 5pm - Aula Simone del Pollaiolo, Palazzo Strozzi, Scuola Normale Superiore

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

Manuela Caiani will illustrate a project that investigates populist messages in popular music in Europe. The COSMOS Share talk will take place from 5pm to 6pm on the 12th of December

 

The figure of social media in contemporary protest – Olu Jenzen, University of Brighton

Date: 07/11/2018

Place: 5pm - Aula Simone del Pollaiolo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

A talk on the Gezi park protest of 2013 as a case study to elucidate how social media, and more specifically Twitter, has emerged as a signifier of contemporary protest.

 

Eduardo Georjão Fernandes – Controlling dissent: new surveillance technologies and the policing of social movements in Brazil

Date: 03/10/2018

Place: 5pm Aula Simone del Pollaiolo, Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

At 5pm, Eduardo Georjão Fernandes will speak about his research on how police forces employ new surveillance technologies to control grassroots dissent in Brazil

 

Ulises Vera – “Affections, emotions and protest communication post #YoSoy132 movement”

Date: 25/10/2017

Place: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore - Palazzo Strozzi, Florence - Room Simone del Pollaiolo

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On October 25th 2017 at 5 p.m. Ulises Vera (Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City) will discuss a paper entitled “Affections, emotions and protest communication post #YoSoy132 movement”

 

Paris Aslanidis – “Populism and Social Movements: Problematizing the Role of Populist Discourse in the Movements of the Squares”

Date: 08/06/2017

Place: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore - Palazzo Strozzi, Florence - Room Simone del Pollaiolo

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On June 8th 2017 at 5 p.m. Paris Aslanidis (Yale University) will discuss a paper entitled “Populism and Social Movements: Problematizing the Role of Populist Discourse in the Movements of the Squares”

 

Jan Matti Dollbaum – “Life after the end of a protest cycle: comparing local development paths of protest in electoral authoritarianism. The case of Russia 2011-2016”

Date: 18/05/2017

Place: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore - Palazzo Strozzi, Florence - Room Simone del Pollaiolo

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On May 18th 2017 at 6 p.m., Jan Matti Dollbaum (University of Bremen) will discuss a paper entitled “Life after the end of a protest cycle: comparing local development paths of protest in electoral authoritarianism. The case of Russia 2011-2016”

 

Kersti Wissenbach – “Theory construction around civic tech”

Date: 18/05/2017

Place: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore - Palazzo Strozzi, Florence - Room Simone del Pollaiolo

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On May 18th 2017, at 5 p.m., Kersti Wissenbach (University of Amsterdam) will present a paper entitled “Theory construction around civic tech”

 

Jochen Kleres – “Emotions and Climate Activism”

Date: 11/05/2017

Place: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore - Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze - Room Benedetto da Maiano

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On May 11th 2017, at 3 p.m., Jochen Kleres (Scuola Normale Superiore) will present a paper entitled “Emotions and Climate Activism”

 

Marco Deseriis – “Direct Parliamentarianism: An Analysis of the Political Values Embedded in Rousseau, the ‘Operating System’ of the Five Star Movement”

Date: 11/05/2017

Place: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore - Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze - Room Benedetto da Maiano

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On May 11th 2017, at 2 p.m., Marco Deseriis (Scuola Normale Superiore/Northeastern University) will present a paper entitled “Direct Parliamentarianism: An Analysis of the Political Values Embedded in Rousseau, the ‘Operating System’ of the Five Star Movement”

 

Julia Rone – “ ‘Don’t Worry: We are from the Internet’: Mobilizing against ACTA and TTIP in the Age of Austerity”

Date: 06/04/2017

Place: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore - Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze - Room Simone del Pollaiolo

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On April 6th, from 5 to 6 p.m., Julia Rone (European University Institute), will discuss her work entitled: “Don’t Worry: We are from the Internet”: Mobilizing against ACTA and TTIP in the Age of Austerity

 

Andrea Felicetti – “ ‘Convergence des luttes’ and deliberation in the Nuit debout movement”

Date: 23/03/2017

Place: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Scuola Normale Superiore - Palazzo Strozzi, Firenze - Room Simone del Pollaiolo

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On March 23rd 2017, from 5 to 6 p.m., Andrea Felicetti (Scuola Normale Superiore) will present a paper entitled “ ‘Convergence des luttes’ and deliberation in the Nuit debout movement”

 

Contentious politics by other means. New Environmentalism and the Politics of Expertise in Florence and Venice

Date: 09/03/2017

Place: Scuola Normale Superiore, Palazzo Strozzi, Istituto di Scienze Umane e Sociali, Aula Simone del Pollaiolo

Category: COSMOS Share

Abstract:

On Thursday, 9 March, Riccardo Emilio Chesta (EUI) will present his work on new environmentalism and the politics of expertise in Italy at 5pm in Room Simone del Pollaiolo.

 

News

Publications

Journal Article - 2023

Resisting right-wing populism in power: a comparative analysis of the Facebook activities of social movements in Italy and the UK

Niccolò Pennucci
This paper aims to present a comparative study of the civil society reaction to right-wing populism in power through social media, by looking at cases in Italy and the United Kingdom.

Journal Article - 2023

Emotions in Action: the Role of Emotions in Refugee Solidarity Activism

Chiara Milan
This article investigates the different types of emotions that result from participation in refugee solidarity activism, investigating how they change over time and to what extent they explain why individuals remain involved in action in spite of unfavorable circumstances.

Journal Article - 2023

‘Love is over, this is going to be Turkey!’: cathartic resonance between the June 2013 protests in Turkey and Brazil

Batuhan Eren
This study addresses the question of why and how a protest can inspire individuals in distant countries. Taking the June 2013 protests in Turkey and Brazil as cases, it investigates the reasons why the Turkish protests were framed as one of the inspirational benchmarks by some Brazilian protesters.

Journal Article - 2023

Mutual aid and solidarity politics in times of emergency: direct social action and temporality in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Lorenzo Zamponi
From the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures introduced created a series of social problems and needs that were partially addressed in Italy as well as in other countries by grassroots mutual aid initiatives. While many of these initiatives were strongly rooted in the Italian social movement and civil society landscape and the choice to engage in mutual aid activities was the result of long years of reflection and planning, the article shows how strongly the temporality of emergency affected the nature of these initiatives, their development and their outcomes, in particular with regard to the extraordinary number of people who volunteered and their relationship with politicisation processes.

Monograph - 2023

Populism and (Pop) Music

Manuela Caiani, Enrico Padoan
The book provides a detailed account of the links between production of popular culture to the rise of populism and contributes to studies on populism and popular culture in Italy, using a comparative approach and a cultural sociology perspective

Monograph - 2022

Labour conflicts in the digital age

Donatella della Porta, Riccardo Emilio Chesta, Lorenzo Cini
From Deliveroo to Amazon, digital platforms have drastically transformed the way we work. But how are these transformations being received and challenged by workers? This book provides a radical interpretation of the changing nature of worker movements in the digital age, developing an invaluable approach that combines social movement studies and industrial relations. Using case studies taken from Europe and North America, it offers a comparative perspective on the mobilizing trajectories of different platform workers and their distinct organizational forms and action repertoires.

Monograph - 2022

Resisting the Backlash: Street Protest in Italy

Donatella della Porta, Niccolò Bertuzzi, Daniela Chironi, Chiara Milan, Martín Portos & Lorenzo Zamponi
Drawing interview material, together with extensive data from the authors’ original social movement database, this book examines the development of social movements in resistance to perceived political "regression" and a growing right-wing backlash.

Journal Article - 2021

Learning from Democratic Practices: New Perspectives in Institutional Design

Andrea Felicetti
Drawing from literature on democratic practices in social movements and democratic innovations, the article illustrates three ways to advance institutional design in the wake of the systemic turn.

Monograph - 2021

Migrant Protest. Interactive Dynamics in Precarious Mobilizations

Elias Steinhilper
This book explores the interactions and spaces shaping the emergence, trajectory, and fragmentation of migrant protest in unfavorable contexts of marginalization.

Journal Article - 2021

Populism between voting and non-electoral participation

Andrea Pirro & Martín Portos
The article focuses on a neglected aspect of populist mobilisation, i.e. non-electoral participation (NEP), and elaborates on the extent to which populist party voters engage politically outside the polling station. While challenging common understandings of populism as inherently distrustful and apathetic, and protest as an exclusive practice of the left, the study critically places NEP at the heart of populism in general, and populist right politics in particular.