A Caribbean communist, historian of the black and Pan-Africanist movements, C.L.R. James was a pioneer of cultural studies, often forgotten yet important for his influence on the black and anticolonial movement and workers’ struggles from the late 1930s to the 1960s. The essay presents a critical reading of American Civilizationthat James wrote between 1949 and 1950 and published four years after his death in 1989. Although the manuscript was never completed, its historical meaning remains intact for its pervasive vision of the United States and its way of translating Marxian thought into the US culture and politics. While historiography has taken the manuscript into account for its contribution to cultural studies, the essay considers it as his “political manifesto” for the United States. By placing James in the intellectual context that marked his US moment (1938-1953), the essay reconstructs his critique of sociological and managerial literature, particularly Elton Mayo and Peter Drucker, and against the rise of a “counter-revolutionary philosophy,” especially Richard Weaver. American Civilization brought to light a continuous workers’ struggle in its potential connection with blacks and women’s antagonisms.
Comunista caraibico, storico dei movimenti neri e panafricani, C.L.R. James è stato un pioniere degli studi culturali, spesso dimenticato ma importante per la sua influenza sul movimento nero e anticoloniale e sulle lotte operaie dalla fine degli anni Trenta agli anni Sessanta. Il saggio presenta una lettura critica di American Civilization che James scrisse tra il 1949 e il 1950, pubblicato solo quattro anni dopo la sua morte nel 1989. Sebbene il manoscritto non sia mai stato completato, il suo significato storico rimane intatto per la sua visione pervasiva degli Stati Uniti e per il suo modo di tradurre il pensiero marxiano nella cultura e nella politica statunitense. Mentre la storiografia ha preso in considerazione il manoscritto per il suo contributo agli studi culturali, il saggio lo considera come il suo “manifesto politico” per gli Stati Uniti. Collocando James nel contesto intellettuale del suo momento statunitense (1938-1953), il saggio ricostruisce la sua critica alla letteratura sociologica e manageriale, in particolare a Elton Mayo e Peter Drucker, e all’ascesa di una “filosofia controrivoluzionaria”, in particolare a Richard Weaver. American Civilization porta alla luce una continua lotta operaia nella sua potenziale connessione con l’antagonismo nero e delle donne.
Battistini, M. (2024). Una «nuova società arriverà»: C.L.R. James nella civilizzazione americana. SCIENZA & POLITICA, 36(71), 91-114.
Una «nuova società arriverà»: C.L.R. James nella civilizzazione americana
matteo battistini
2024
Abstract
A Caribbean communist, historian of the black and Pan-Africanist movements, C.L.R. James was a pioneer of cultural studies, often forgotten yet important for his influence on the black and anticolonial movement and workers’ struggles from the late 1930s to the 1960s. The essay presents a critical reading of American Civilizationthat James wrote between 1949 and 1950 and published four years after his death in 1989. Although the manuscript was never completed, its historical meaning remains intact for its pervasive vision of the United States and its way of translating Marxian thought into the US culture and politics. While historiography has taken the manuscript into account for its contribution to cultural studies, the essay considers it as his “political manifesto” for the United States. By placing James in the intellectual context that marked his US moment (1938-1953), the essay reconstructs his critique of sociological and managerial literature, particularly Elton Mayo and Peter Drucker, and against the rise of a “counter-revolutionary philosophy,” especially Richard Weaver. American Civilization brought to light a continuous workers’ struggle in its potential connection with blacks and women’s antagonisms.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
