The project investigates the gender-related impasses and biases of the model of sociopolitical inclusion that lies at the heart of our contemporary work-centered society. The overall goal is to contribute to recasting such a model, its vocabulary and its main concepts, so as to reground the architecture of sociopolitical rights. In line with the PNRR’s strategic theme of human wellbeing, our
inquiry is meant to contribute to a truly inclusive and democratic society.

The project is based upon an innovative, cross-disciplinary, methodological approach, which intertwines the archeology of cultural representations, history of concepts, political theory and comparative literature in order to develop a groundbreaking analysis of the female role and of gender dynamics within the discourses on “workism” and their categories. The project will therefore deploy a dynamic intersection between intellectual history, gender studies, social and political theory, literary studies.

We intend to investigate and reframe the gendered dimensions of such concepts as “work”, “worker”, “workism” and “professional duty” by looking at the way this constellation of ideas emerged toward the end of the 19th century with a specific focus on the Italian context. We will do so by means of a theoretically oriented analysis of sources which include both well-known texts and a variety of under-researched texts that are nonetheless key to getting a full and more articulated picture of the addressed phenomena. Among the latter are: religiously-inspired publications, texts on vocational guidance and the choice of the profession, magazines for women, and some literary texts – many of them written by women – featuring extensive representations of women at work.
Such analysis will build upon the theoretical assessment of the political implications of work as a ground for citizenship rights and welfare provisions, thus engaging with the contemporary debate in the field of political and social theory, and with specific attention to the feminist contributions. Both as a tool for the investigation and as a way to disseminate our findings we will create a digital Open Access repository for sharing research on workism and professional duties in a gender perspective. 

The existing platform ProfEthics (http://profethics.lett.unitn) will be expanded to host a new database with relevant sources from the Italian 19th-20th context, thus implementing the strategies on the creation of a “digital cultural heritage” designed by the PNR and the PNRR. The hypothesis to be verified during the project is that a gender-oriented perspective enables the identification of theoretical and political contradictions embedded in a work-centered society that are particularly evident in the actual economic transformations. An in-depth understanding of this will allow us to put forward alternative concepts and policy ideas, and to nurture trust in democracy among society at large.

ENTE PROMOTORE: Unione Europea - MUR
NOME PROGETTO: PRIN PNRR 2022 - Beyond Workism and the Work-Centered Society. A Gender-Oriented Theoretical and Historical Inquiry into the Vocabulary of Socio-Political Inclusion
COD. MUR: P2022N8YKE
PERIODO E DURATA: 24 mesi
FINANZIAMENTO: Finanziato dall’Unione europea – Next Generation EU, secondo il PNRR, Missione 4 - Componente 2 - Investimento 1.1
CUP J53D23017740001
COORDINATORI: Università degli Studi di Trento
REFERENTI SSSA: Prof.ssa Anna Loretoni, Prof.ssa Barbara Henry, Dr. Marco Solinas, Dott.ssa Elena Agatensi