1968 in Europe
1968 in Europe: A Revolutionary
Moment?
Dr. Rebecca Clifford
Modern Europe: A History of
Revolution
1789
1848
1871
1917
1945
...and 1968?
[and, of course, 1989?]
Historians on 1968 as revolution Historiography before the 1990s 1968 was a failed political
revolution
1998: Historian Arthur Marwick argues in The Sixties that the
1960s was a revolutionary moment, but it was a moment of cultural revolution, not political revolution
Marwick: ‘Slightly hesitantly, I am calling this...a ‘cultural revolution’. The activities of the minorities in the ‘counterculture’, the New Left, the student movement, played some part in changing the lives of the majority, though there were many other factors. For me, ‘cultural revolution’ is a convenient short-hand term to describe that entire process.
More recently, Gerd-Rainer Horn (The Spirit of ‘68, 2007) has argued that 1968 had elements of a social revolution, although only certain elements of this revolution were successful in the long run
What happened in 1968?
Today we will be exploring this question by
looking at events in three countries: France (which we will look at in detail), West Germany and Italy
(which we will briefly explore)
The focus will be on the student and workers’ movements; next week’s lecture will look at other movements that grew out of 1968
We will consider the extent to which the events of
1968 can be deemed revolutionary
If this was a revolutionary moment, what sort of revolution was it? Political? Cultural? Social?
Was it a ‘successful’ revolution or a ‘failed’ one?
‘1968’ as a symbol, not a year In France, student and worker revolt
exploded in May 1968, but died down relatively quickly thereafter
In Italy, the period often referred to as
‘1968’ lasted from 1965 to 1969 and beyond In West Germany, ‘1968’ lasted from 19671968
In each country, the term ‘1968’ can be used symbolically to evoke the entire era; the term ‘1968er’ can be used (sometimes in a derogatory way) to
Moment?
Dr. Rebecca Clifford
Modern Europe: A History of
Revolution
1789
1848
1871
1917
1945
...and 1968?
[and, of course, 1989?]
Historians on 1968 as revolution Historiography before the 1990s 1968 was a failed political
revolution
1998: Historian Arthur Marwick argues in The Sixties that the
1960s was a revolutionary moment, but it was a moment of cultural revolution, not political revolution
Marwick: ‘Slightly hesitantly, I am calling this...a ‘cultural revolution’. The activities of the minorities in the ‘counterculture’, the New Left, the student movement, played some part in changing the lives of the majority, though there were many other factors. For me, ‘cultural revolution’ is a convenient short-hand term to describe that entire process.
More recently, Gerd-Rainer Horn (The Spirit of ‘68, 2007) has argued that 1968 had elements of a social revolution, although only certain elements of this revolution were successful in the long run
What happened in 1968?
Today we will be exploring this question by
looking at events in three countries: France (which we will look at in detail), West Germany and Italy
(which we will briefly explore)
The focus will be on the student and workers’ movements; next week’s lecture will look at other movements that grew out of 1968
We will consider the extent to which the events of
1968 can be deemed revolutionary
If this was a revolutionary moment, what sort of revolution was it? Political? Cultural? Social?
Was it a ‘successful’ revolution or a ‘failed’ one?
‘1968’ as a symbol, not a year In France, student and worker revolt
exploded in May 1968, but died down relatively quickly thereafter
In Italy, the period often referred to as
‘1968’ lasted from 1965 to 1969 and beyond In West Germany, ‘1968’ lasted from 19671968
In each country, the term ‘1968’ can be used symbolically to evoke the entire era; the term ‘1968er’ can be used (sometimes in a derogatory way) to