Introduction

Authors

• Matteo Battistini Università di Bologna http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7238-5470

  Matteo Battistini is researcher in American History and Politics at University of Bologna His research interests are mainly directed to the construction of the American State in relation to the national and transnational transformations that have historically shaped its society and economy. Currently, his research focuses on the crisis and the rise of the American middle class and the role played by social sciences from New Deal to the eve of Cold War. He is author of numerous publications on important Italian and foreign journals and books.

• Alberto Benvenuti INDIRE
  Alberto Benvenuti holds an MA in American Studies and a PhD in Contemporary History from the University of Florence. His research interests focus mainly on African American history, US-Cuba relations and the intersections between race and politics during the Cold War. He is writing on US social movements—such as Black Lives Matter—for several Italian journals and newspapers. He is currently working at INDIRE (the Italian National Institute for Documentation, Innovation, Research and Youth Work).
• Cristina Bon Università Cattolica di Milano
  Cristina Bon is a research fellow and lecturer at Catholic University of Milan, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences. Her research focuses on the political and constitutional developments of the United States, with a particular emphasis on the state level and the role played by Federal and state chief executives. Her studies have been published on important Italian journals and books.
• Francesca Cadeddu Fondazione per le Scienze religiose Giovanni XXIII http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0214-1734
  Francesca Cadeddu holds an MA in International Relations and a PhD in Political Doctrines from the University of Bologna. Her research interests focus on the History of Catholicism in the United States, and religious freedom and religious literacy in the Twentieth Century. She is currently working at the Foundation for Religious Sciences in Bologna, Italy
• Lorenzo Costaguta University of Nottingham
  Lorenzo Costaguta holds a PhD in American Studies from the University of Nottingham and a MSc in Political Theory from LSE. He is an historian of socialism and radicalism in the US, with a specific interest on ideas of race and ethnicity.
• Gaetano Di Tommaso Università di Bologna, SciencesPo-Paris
  Gaetano Di Tommaso holds a MA in International Relations and is currently enrolled in a double-degree Ph.D. program between the University of Bologna and Sciences Po, Paris. His main research interests are in the areas of U.S. foreign policy, oil policy, and energy security.
• Annalisa Mogorovich Università di Trieste
  Annalisa Mogorovich holds a PhD in Contemporary History from the University of Trieste. Her main research interests include African American History, Women's and Gender Studies with a specific focus on black women's history in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Angela Santese Università di Bologna
  Angela Santese is research fellow and adjunct professor of History of European Integration. She earned her PhD in Contemporary History from the Department of Political Sciences of the University of Bologna. In 2012 she was junior visiting scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Washington, DC. Her research interests deal with U.S. foreign policy, Cold War history and antinuclear and environmental movements. She is author of publications on Italian and international journals and a book.