The politics of authenticity: countercultures and radical movements across the Iron Curtain, 1968-1989

"Following the convulsions of 1968, one element uniting many of the disparate social movements that arose across Europe was the pursuit of an elusive "authenticity" that could help activists to understand fundamental truths about themselves--their feelings, aspirations, sexualities, and disappointments. This volume offers a fascinating exploration of the politics of authenticity as they manifested themselves among such groups as Italian leftists, East German lesbian activists, and punks on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Together they show not only how authenticity came to define varied social contexts, but also how it helped to usher in the neoliberalism of a subsequent era"--

Intro -- The Politics of Authenticity -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Revolution as a Quest for an Authentic Life -- Chapter 2. Authenticity through Transgression -- Chapter 3. The Political, Emotional, and Therapeutic -- Chapter 4. A Genealogy of a Politics of Subjectivity -- Chapter 5. New Feminism, Women's Subjectivity, and Feminist Politics -- Chapter 6. Women's Bodies and Feminist Subjectivities in West Germany -- Chapter 7. The Rise of a New Consciousness -- Chapter 8. The Italian Movement of 1977 and the Cultural Praxis of the Youthful Proletariat -- Chapter 9. The Struggle for the Minds of the Youth -- Chapter 10. Punk Authenticity -- Chapter 11. Humanitarianism on Stage -- Chapter 12. Embedded Abstractions -- Afterword. Concluding Thoughts -- Index

Revolution as a quest for an authentic life : the sixties and seventies in Italy / Angelo Ventrone -- Authenticity through transgression : small acts of resentment in post-1968 Czechoslovakia / Baris Yorumez -- The political, emotional and therapeutic : narratives of consciousness-raising and authenticity in the English women's liberation movement / Kate Mahoney -- A genealogy of a politics of subjectivity : Guy Hocquenghem, homosexuality, and the radical left in post-68 France / Antoine Idier -- New feminism, women's subjectivity and feminist politics : conceptual transfers and activist inspirations in Yugoslavia in the 1970-80s / Zsofia Lorand -- Women's bodies and feminist subjectivities in West Germany / Jane Freeland -- The rise of a new consciousness : lesbian activism in East Germany in the 1980s / Maria Buhner -- The Italian movement of 1977 and the cultural praxis of the youthful proletariat / Danilo Mariscalco -- The struggle for youth's minds : the securitate and musical countercultures in communist Romania / Manuela Marin -- Punk authenticity : difference across the Iron Curtain / Jeff Hayton -- Humanitarianism on stage : 'Live Aid' and the origins of humanitarian pop music / Benjamin Mockel -- Embedded abstractions : authenticity, aura, and abject domesticity in Hamburg's Hafenstrasse / Jake P. Smith

Following the convulsions of 1968, one element uniting many of the disparate social movements that arose across Europe was the pursuit of an elusive "authenticity" that could help activists to understand fundamental truths about themselves-their feelings, aspirations, sexualities, and disappointments. This volume offers a fascinating exploration of the politics of authenticity as they manifested themselves among such groups as Italian leftists, East German lesbian activists, and punks on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Together they show not only how authenticity came to define varied social contexts, but also how it helped to usher in the neoliberalism of a subsequent era