Michele Filippini is Associate Professor in the Department of Arts in the University of Bologna, previously researcher Rtd-b and Rtd-a in the Department of political and social sciences. He has been Principal Investigator of a Firb (Future in research) project for the implementation of a Digital Library of Gramsci’s texts (gramsciproject.org), coordinating a multidisciplinary project at the crossroad between Semantic Web studies, Gramscian studies and Digital humanities.
After obtaining my PhD in 2008, I focused my research on the figure of Antonio Gramsci, following two main lines of research: 1) the investigation of the international success and the different interpretations of Gramscian thought in various fields of social research (Gramsci globale, Odoya, 2011); 2) the relationship between social sciences and Marxism, and in particular on the birth of the “sociological canon” between XIX and XX Century and its relation with Gramsci’s ouvre (Una politica di massa. Antonio Gramsci e la rivoluzione della società, Carocci, 2015).
Further lines of research are those of “Italian workerism”, an autonomous Marxism experience that has had a significant international fortune, especially in contemporary critical theory (Leaping Forward, Jve-Crs, 2012; M. Tronti’s anthology Il demone della politica, il Mulino, 2018); and the post-fundationalist tradition of Ernesto Laclau (Italian translation of Hegemony and Socialist Strategy).
Research positions
From September 2019 to September 2022 Researcher (Rtd-b) in the Department of the Arts, University of Bologna.
June 2013 – June 2016. Researcher (Rtd-a) in the Department of Political and Social Sciences.
March 2013 – march 2018 Principal Investigator FIRB project Gramscisource.
March 2011 – Feb 2013 Research Fellow in “Politica, istituzioni e storia” Department, University of Bologna. Research project: Cooperation: history of a social and political concept.
Gen 2010 – Dec 2011 Research fellow in the “Department of theory” at the Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, Netherlands. Research project: Readings of Gramsci in the world.
Nov 2004 – Jun 2008 Phd in “Europa e Americhe: Costituzioni, dottrine e istituzioni politiche”.
Oct 1999 – Oct 2004 Degree in Political Sciences. Final grade: 110/110 cum laude.
Awards
March 28, 2017 “Abilitazione scientifica nazionale” for Associate Professor in History of Political Thought.
November 2012 FIRB grant as Principal investigator.
November 2010 Fellowship “Borsa alla memoria di Umberto Tasca” by the Fondazione Ambicò.
October 2009 Gerratana prize for the best phd dissertaion on Antonio Gramsci.
December 2005 Gerratana prize for the best essay on Antonio Gramsci.
Memberships
Since 2018 member of the Scientific Committee of the Center for the study of the Reason of State and Democracy (ArS RoSa).
Since 2014 peer-reviewer for the Journals: “Filosofia politica”, “Storia del pensiero politico”, “Scienza & Politica”, “Studi culturali”, “Constellations”, “Modern Intellectual History”.
Since May 2013 member of the Organizing Committee of the “Rome Historical Materialism Conference”
Since March 2013 member of the editorial board of the review “Politics. Rivista di studi politici”.
Since October 2012 member of the editorial board of the review “Scienza & Politica”.
2010-2015 member of the editorial board of the “International Gramsci Society – Italy”.
2009-2014 director of the book series “Libera la ricerca”, Odoya publishing house.
Books
Una politica di massa. Antonio Gramsci e la rivoluzione della società, Carocci, Rome, 2015, pp. 264.
Leaping forward. Mario Tronti and the history of political workerism, Jan Van Eyck Academie and Centro per la Riforma dello Stato, Maastricht, 2012, pp. 48 + inserts.
Gramsci Globale. Guida pratica alle interpretazioni di Gramsci nel mondo, Odoya, Bologna, 2011, pp. 176.
Translations and edited books
Mario Tronti, Il demone della politica: Antologia di scritti (1958-2015), introduced and edited by M. Cavalleri, M. Filippini, J. Mascat, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2017.
80s and 90s. Per una mappa di concetti, pratiche e pensatori, monographic issue of “Politics. Rivista di studi politici”, introduced and edited by M. Filippini, C. Cassina and D. Lazzarich, 3-4, 2015.
Politica e discipline della cooperazione, monographic section of “Scienza & Politica”, introduced and edited by Michele Filippini, vol. 26, n. 50, 2014 pp. 1-93, 213-225.
Gramsci e la sociologia , special issue of “Quaderni di Teoria Sociale”, edited and with an introduction by Michele Filippini and Massimo Rosati, Morlacchi Editore, 2013.
The Autonomy of the political , edited and with an introduction by Michele Filippini and Nathaniel Boyd, Jan Van Eyck Academie, Maastricht, 2012.
Ernesto Laclau and Chantall Mouffe, Egemonia e strategia socialista. Verso una politica democratica radicale, edited, translated and with a preface by Michele Filippini and Fortunato M. Cacciatore, il melangolo, 2011, 288 pp.
Book chapters
Decentrare il populismo: quattro critiche a Laclau, in F.M. Cacciatore (eds), Il momento populista. Ernesto Laclau in discussione, Mimesis, Milan, 2019, pp. 75-98.
(with M. Cavalleri and J. Mascat) Introduzione, in Mario Tronti, Il demone della politica: Antologia di scritti (1958-2015), Il Mulino, Bologna, 2017, pp. 11-63.
Max Weber, in R.D.F. dos Passos e S. Areco (eds), Gramsci e seus contemporâneos, Marília: Oficina Universitária; São Paulo: Cultura Acadêmica, 2017, pp. 115-44.
Punto di vista e autonomia del politico. Mario Tronti e l'Italian Theory, in P. Maltese, D. Mariscalco (eds), Vita, politica, rappresentazione. A partire dall'Italian Theory, Ombre Corte, Verona, 2016, pp. 77-96.
(with Federico Tomasello), Il pensiero come arnese. Note sul metodo operaista degli anni Sessanta, in A. Simoncini (ed), Dal pensiero critico. Filosofie e concetti per il tempo presente, Mimesis, 2015, pp. 313-31.
Antonio Gramsci e la scienza politica della crisi, in Lea durante, Guido Liguori, Domande dal presente. Studi su Gramsci, Carocci, 2012, pp. 53-66.
Niccolò Machiavelli: la «grande politica», in Il nostro Gramsci, Antonio Gramsci a colloquio con i protagonisti della storia d’Italia, edited by Angelo d’Orsi, Viella, 2011, pp. 23-32.
Mario Tronti e l’operaismo politico degli anni Sessanta, in Cahiers du GRM, n. 2, La séquence rouge italienne, telematic editions, www.europhilosophie-editions.eu/fr/spip.php?article77, 2011, pp. 76-132.
French translation: Mario Tronti et l’opéraïsme politique des années soixante, in Cahiers du GRM, n. 2, La séquence rouge italienne, 2011, pp. 133-142.
Il confronto con il marxismo contemporaneo, in Eleonora Forenza, Guido Liguori (ed.), Valentino Gerratana “filosofo democratico”, conference Proceedings, Carocci, 2011, pp. 95-103.
Identità nazionale, religione civile, comunità, in La cultura italiana, diretta da Luigi Luca Cavalli Sforza, Vol. V, Struttura della società, valori e politica, Utet, 2009, pp. 108-127.
Articles in journal
Le origini intellettuali della rivoluzione italiana: il ‘68 e la sua genesi, in “Scienza & politica”, 30, 59, 2018, pp. 79-103.
Gramsciproject.org: una «digital library» semantica per nuovi percorsi di ricerca, in “Studi culturali”, 2, 2016, pp. 259-72.
Le antinomie del concetto di cooperazione, in “Scienza & Politica”, vol. 26, n. 50, 2014, pp. 77-93.
Antonio Gramsci e Max Weber. Un dialogo a distanza sulla “selezione” fordista, in “Quaderni di Teoria Sociale”, 2013, pp. 51-76.
Tra ideologia e senso comune. Dell'ideologia in Gramsci, in “Scienza & Politica”, 47, 2012, pp. 89-106
Mazzini in Calcutta. The unexpected echos of the Italian Risorgimento, in “Giornale di storia costituzionale”, n. 22, II, 2011, pp. 115-125.
Una filologia della società. Antonio Gramsci e la scoperta delle scienze sociali, in “Scienza & Politica”, 41, 2009, pp. 89-103.
The Discourse of the Social Sciences and Gramscian Thought, in “Lapsus review”, published by Galatasaray University, Istambul, 3, 2008, pp. 19-25.
Individuo e individualità in Gramsci, in “Critica Marxista”, 3-4, 2007, pp. 35-43.
Dictionary entries and bibliographies
Bibliography on the Concept of Cooperation, in “Scienza & Politica”, vol. 26, n. 50, 2014, pp. 213-225.
Autorità, Bonapartismo, Burocrazia, Capo carismatico, Caporalismo, Classe dirigente, Classe politica, Corruzione, Costituzionalismo, Costituzione, Crisi di autorità, Demagogia, Direzione, Diritto, Divisione dei poteri, Élite, Epoca, Esercito, Federalismo, Forza, Funzionario, Gaetano Mosca, Governanti-governati, Jean Bodin, Max Weber, Meccanicismo, Partito, Potere, Rivoluzionario, Robert Michels, Sociologia, Sovversivismo, Specialismo, Tipo sociale, Velleitarismo, Vilfredo Pareto, in Dizionario gramsciano 1926-1937, (edited by) Guido Liguori and Pasquale Voza, Roma, Carocci, 2009.
Review essays
Towards a new Gramscian moment, in “Critical Sociology”, July 2013, vol. 39 no. 4, pp. 641-648.
Gramsci in Italy and Abroad, in “Historical Materialism”, Vol. XVII, n. 2, 2009, pp. 261-271.
La “Democrazia radicale” in Italia, in “Critica Marxista”, 2, 2009, pp. 69-73.
Reviews
[Review of P. Thomas, The Gramscian Moment], in “Filosofia Politica”, n. 3, 2012, pp. 494-497.
[Review of A. Bieler, A. David (ed.), Images of Gramsci. Connections and Contentions in Political Theory and International Relations], in “Ricerche di storia politica”, n. 2, 2010, pp. 260-261.
[Review of Angelo d’Orsi (edited by), Egemonie], in “Critica Marxista”, n. 3-4, 2009, pp. 114-116.
[Review of Georges Canguilhem, Il fascismo e i contadini], in “Ricerche di storia politica”, n. 1, 2009, pp. 111-112.
Papers held in Conferences
Lecture Decentralizing populism, four critiques to Laclau at the “Athens Historical Materialism Conference”, Panteion University, May 2-5 2019.
Lecture Mario Tronti e il lungo '68 at the Conference “Le traiettorie dell’operaismo nel ‘lungo ’68’ italiano”, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, December 20-21, 2018.
Lecture Il Marx di Laclau: prima e oltre il populismo at the Conference “Karl Marx. Eredità teoriche e nuove prospettive analitiche”, University of Salento, Lecce, February 22-24, 2018.
Lecture Dall’obbligazione per protezione all’obbligazione per attivazione: nuovi scenari per un concetto classico at the Conference “Protego ergo obligo: il rapporto tra ordine, sicurezza e legittimazione nella storia del pensiero politico”, Italian association of Political thought scholars, Naples, December 14/15, 2017.
Lecture The forms of a travelling theory at the International Conference “Gramsci in the Arab world”, University of Bari, Bari, November 30-December 1, 2017.
Lecture L’utilizzo dei concetti gramsciani nel mondo at the Conference “Gramsci nel Novecento”, University of Milan, Milan, October 11, 2017.
Lecture Gramsci e la politica di massa in the Conference “Egemonia. Convegno nazionale a ottanta anni dalla morte di Antonio Gramsci”, Rome, April 27th 2017.
Organization and opening Lecture at the International Conference “Antonio Gramsci dall'Italia al mondo. Semantica e fortuna dei 'Quaderni del carcere'”, University of Bologna, January 22nd 2016.
Lecture Reading Mario Tronti: Between the 'Autonomy of the Political' and the Italian Theory in the Conference “Italian Theory. Life, Politics, Representation”, University of Palermo, Palermo, January 19th-20th, 2015.
Lecture A Semantic DL for Gramsci's Writings at the International Conference “Open Platforms for Digital Humanities”, Scuola Normale Superiore, Cortona, January 17th-18th, 2013.
Organization and introduction to the International Conference “The Autonomy of the Political”, Jan Van Eyck Akademie, Maastricht (NL), November 2nd, 2011.
Lecture Mazzini in Calcutta. The Unexpected Echos of the Italian Risorgimento in the Conference “End of an epoch? The Unification of Italy in the European Concert of Nations”, Fondazione Roberto Ruffilli, Forlì, May 13th-14th, 2011.
Lecture Subalternity in Gramsci: Historiographic and Political Problems in the Conference “Dare voce ai subalterni: all’ombra di Gramsci”, University of Chieti, Chieti, April 13th, 2011.
Lecture Valentino Gerratana and Contemporary Marxism in the Conference “Valentino Gerratana democratic philosopher”, University of Roma Tre, Rome, November 18th-19th, 2010.
Lecture The Gramscian Concept of Crisis at the “7th Historical Materialism Annual Conference”, SOAS, London, November 11th-14th, 2010.
Lecture Subalternes de l’Etat ou sans l’Etat? at the “Stage intensif de printemps 2010” of the “Master Mundus EuroPhilosophie”, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, April 14th, 2010.
Lecture The Discourse of Social Sciences and Gramscian Thought at the “4th Historical Materialism Annual Conference”, SOAS, London, November 9th-11th, 2007.
Lecture The Discourse of Social Sciences in Gramsci’s Thought in the Conference “Our Gramsci”, Fondazione Istituto piemontese Antonio Gramsci, Turin, November 8th-9th, 2007.
Discussant at the Conference “Antonio Gramsci: Between Past and Present”, Inter-University Centre for Gramscian Studies, Bari, October 29th-30th 2007.
Lecture Gramsci and Social Sciences at the International Conference “Antonio Gramsci, a Sardinian in the ‘Great and Terrible World’”, International Gramsci Society, Cagliari, May 3rd-6th 2007.
Seminars (selection)
Seminar L’irruzione delle masse: meccanismi sociali e ordine politico per una nuova teoria rivoluzionaria, scuola per la buona politica della Fondazione Basso, Roma, 22 marzo 2018.
Seminar La riflessione di Gramsci sul 1917: modernità contro utopia in the seminar series “Why revolution?”, Dipartimento di scienze politiche e sociali, Bologna-Forlì, November 15, 2017.
In quel che resta del popolo, seminar discussion with Mario Tronti on the book Dello spirito libero, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, March 10th 2017.
Seminar Ordine liberale e ordine nuovo. Lessico dell’ordine a inizio Novecento, Department of political and social sciences, University of Bologna, February 15th 2017.
Seminar Attualità del pensiero di Antonio Gramsci, Fondazione Gramsci Emilia Romagna, Bologna, January 14th 2016.
Seminar Per una teoria politica della cooperazione, Fondazione Ivano Barberini/University of Bologna, February 14th 2013.
Round table Why and how read Gramsci today. Young scholars and Gramsci, January 24th 2012, University of Trieste.
Seminar: Antonio Gramsci and the black America of Cornel West, held January 17th 2012 at the Jan Van Eyck Acdemie, Maastricht (NL).
“Monographic seminar of the Department Sept. 2010 – Jan. 2011” in the Faculty of Political Science, Bologna. 30 hours of lectures about Antonio Gramsci’s Prison Notebook.
Seminar: Origine dei concetti di Antonio Gramsci, January 13th 2011, Jan Van Eyck Acdemie, Maastricht (NL).
Seminar: The concept of crisis in the cycle “Seminars on the lexicon of the Prison notebook” organized by the International Gramsci Society Italia (October 31st 2008). Discussants: Pasquale Voza and Roberto Finelli.
Seminar: Gramsci’s heritage in the Anglo-American debate with special reference to Cultural Studies, held September 13th 2006 in the cycle of Research Seminars organized by the Department of “Politics, institutions, history”, University of Bologna, Italy.
