After a short break in May due to institutional commitments, our Midweek Conversations series is back. We’re pleased to resume with a timely presentation on digital activism and leftist influencer culture in Italy, delivered by Andrea Caroselli, Enzo Colombo, Paola Rebughini, and Pasquale Schiano from the University of Milan.
Find the abstract below.
(PS The next meeting, scheduled for July, will be the final session of our first year before the summer break — don’t miss it!)
Leftist influencers and digital activism in Italy
Andrea Caroselli, Enzo Colombo, Paola Rebughini, Pasquale Schiano
Over the past few decades, sociological discourse has increasingly highlighted a gradual shift in the attitudes, practices, and narratives of social movements toward more individualized, flexible, and enterprising forms of political activism. Within this framework, significant attention has been paid to the role of digital platforms and social media in reshaping modes of participation and activism, both within online environments and beyond. Among these developments, growing scholarly interest has been directed toward the so-called influencer culture, particularly in terms of how it intersects with grassroots politics and the role that new digital activists play in processes of collective mobilization. Despite the increasing relevance of the relationship between activism and digital culture, sociological inquiry has thus far predominantly focused on phenomena associated with right-wing populist and nationalist movements, while comparatively less attention has been devoted to progressive/emancipative forms of digital activism. This presentation seeks to offer an initial, partial contribution in this direction by shedding light on the relationship between emerging left-wing digital activism and youth political participation. To this end, we analyse some case studies involving prominent Italian left-leaning influencers, using a methodological framework grounded in both critical discourse and visual analysis. The aim of our current research – part of a PRIN project – is to outline a map and a first categorization of their discursive-practical repertoires and explore how these contribute to the broader transformations currently reshaping contemporary youth activism.
