1) US intellectual history - American liberalism
2) US political history and the history of the American State
3) US women political history and culture
4) Social sciences and the transformation of the American political system
5) American presidency: legitimacy, delegitimization and the problem of consent.
1) One of the most important fields of my research activity
concerns the theoretical and political transformations of the
American liberalism from the Progressive Era on. Particular
emphasis is put on transatlantic connections between European and
American intellectuals and social scientists. My interest in
American intellectual history also concerns the debate on the
American political identity and its connection with
nationalism/transnationalism/internationalism on one hand and the
rise and development of American social sciences, on the other,
with particular reference to the period from the end of the 19th
century to the Second War World.
2) In the broader field of American political history, my research
is focused on the transformation of the political system and in
particular on the development of the American 'state', that is from
the 'state of courts and parties' in the 19th century through the
rise of the national security state in the Cold War..
3) My research on women political history and culture covers both
the 19th and 20th centuries. In particular my interest concerns the
problem of women's citizenship and political participation in
voluntary politics associations and political parties as well. My
hypothesis is that from the 19th through the 20th century women
political activism contributed and, at the same time, was
influenced by the elaboration of a specific women political culture
that shared, but also, criticized, respectively, the American
liberal and conservative political cultures. The topic of American
first ladies is also part of this research field.
4) The role of American social sciences in the political transformation which has affected the rise and fall of the American century.
5) The American presidency. In particular I am interested in the legitimation and delegitimation processes which influence the search of consent and the shaping of the American presidential structure. From this prospective, my research work also includes the analysis of the role of the first lady.
