Panel IV: Cultural Effects of War
Event Title
Gaetano Salvemini: An Anti-Fascist in Cambridge
Start Date
31-3-2012 11:15 AM
End Date
31-3-2012 1:00 PM
Description
Gaetano Salvemini was one of the earliest political exiles during Fascism. Before his exile Salvemini had the reputation as a well-respected historian and political activist. He taught history at the University of Florence among other universities. Salvemini was known for his intelligence, detailed research and analysis, as well as his unflinching ideals. After his exile Salvemini spent some time in England and France. During this time he traveled to the United States for a lecture tour. He returned to Europe but soon after returned to the U.S. He settled in Cambridge, MA to teach at Harvard University. Salvemini’s time at Harvard is very interesting and it is this time period that this paper will focus on.
Salvemini’s main objective in his writing and lectures was to debunk the myths set forth by the Fascist propaganda machine. This paper will analyze if all his efforts were worthwhile. This paper will make use of a variety of sources including Salvemini’s own writing, newspaper articles, reviews, etc. Other sources that will be used include access to Professor DiScala’s personal collection of documents on Salvemini. This collection includes articles, letters, Italian governmental documents, etc. This particular collection includes very important primary sources, including correspondence between Italian government officials in the United States and Italy.
Creative Commons License
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Gaetano Salvemini: An Anti-Fascist in Cambridge
Gaetano Salvemini was one of the earliest political exiles during Fascism. Before his exile Salvemini had the reputation as a well-respected historian and political activist. He taught history at the University of Florence among other universities. Salvemini was known for his intelligence, detailed research and analysis, as well as his unflinching ideals. After his exile Salvemini spent some time in England and France. During this time he traveled to the United States for a lecture tour. He returned to Europe but soon after returned to the U.S. He settled in Cambridge, MA to teach at Harvard University. Salvemini’s time at Harvard is very interesting and it is this time period that this paper will focus on.
Salvemini’s main objective in his writing and lectures was to debunk the myths set forth by the Fascist propaganda machine. This paper will analyze if all his efforts were worthwhile. This paper will make use of a variety of sources including Salvemini’s own writing, newspaper articles, reviews, etc. Other sources that will be used include access to Professor DiScala’s personal collection of documents on Salvemini. This collection includes articles, letters, Italian governmental documents, etc. This particular collection includes very important primary sources, including correspondence between Italian government officials in the United States and Italy.
Comments
Panel IV of the 2012 Graduate History Conference features presentations and papers under the topic of "Cultural Effects of War."
Michael DiClemente's presentation is the second presentation in this panel.