"Rivoluzionari di professione". Pratiche di memoria e idee di lavoro nella Pirelli degli anni sessanta

This research is intended as a methodological discussion towards the study of memory within anthropology. It is based on ethnographic and archival research in the post-industrial area of Pirelli-Bicocca in Milan, Italy. I consider here the historical archive of the Pirelli Industries and my conversations with former unionists and workers of the Pirelli; I focus on the accounts of the years 1968-1969, also known as the “Second Red Biennium” or the “Autunno Caldo”, an exceptional phase of two years of intense demonstrations and strikes. I explore both archival sources and personal accounts, in short: the plurality of voices that are part of the site’s memory, past and present.