We are delighted to announce the publication of the Open Access Reader of Primary Sources The Social Marginals and the Mixed Economy of Welfare in Interwar Europe edited by Michele Mioni and Stefano Petrungaro.

As the editors state “this reader offers both visual and textual sources, which should enable the articulation of a critical reflection on the relationship established in interwar Europe between mixed public-voluntary welfare activities and those actors who were considered social marginals. Every source is introduced by a short commentary in order to contextualise the specific case study. […] The close collaboration between public institutions and private associations had deep implications in terms of public discourses and the representation of social marginalities, as well as in terms of social disciplining. The management of the poor, the excluded, and the most fragile members of society was not a duty ascribed exclusively to the state but was also readily embraced by members of the middle class. The stories this reader refers to, thus, tell us of relevant experiences about the historical relation between state and civil society, between social classes and even outcasts, between members of different genders, ages, and ethnic groups, and between variegated and sometimes quite conflicting moral values and worldviews.”

The Social Marginals and the Mixed Economy of Welfare in Interwar Europe is the result of the research carried out by the members of the Working Group 2 “The Mixed Economy of Welfare”. The working group is also preparing a collective volume with a more extensive analysis and academic literature on the subject. 

The Reader includes contributions by Paolo Borioni (“La Sapienza” University, Rome/Italy); Ángela Cenarro (University of Saragoza/Spain) ; Isabel Escobedo (University of Saragoza/Spain); Andrea Griffante (Lithuanian Institute of History, Vilnius/Lithuania); Patricia Kennedy (St Angela’s College Sligo/Ireland); Claudine Marissal (European University Institute, Florence/Italy); Michele Mioni (University of Bamberg/Germany); Stefano Petrungaro (University Ca’ Foscari in Venice/Italy); Francesca Piana (Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa/Italy); Jakub Rákosník (Charles University, Prague/Czech Republic); Jelena Seferović (Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb/Croatia).

You can download the Reader by clicking on the button below.