Pamela Ballinger

2 months ago | publicseminar.org | Adam Tooze |Mitchell Abidor |Federico Finchelstein |Pamela Ballinger

German tank in Bosnia (1943) | Wikimedia Commons / CC0Two of the most shocking books about World War II were written by the Italian fascist litterateur and dandy Curzio Malaparte. His “novels” Kaputt and The Skin have been canonized through incorporation into the wonderful series of New York Review Classics. They are hailed by luminaries like Milan Kundera, Gary Indiana, and Rachel Kushner. Kaputt (1944) is a kaleidoscopic vision of Axis Europe’s upper class between 1941 and 1943.

Nov 26, 2024 | tandfonline.com | Pamela Ballinger

AbstractThis essay complicates pervasive claims of amnesia about Italy’s fascist and colonial pasts by examining the “migrated archives” produced by decolonization in tandem with emerging migrant archives designed to give voice to those experiences often excluded from state or other official archives.

Apr 8, 2024 | publicseminar.org | Mitchell Abidor |Federico Finchelstein |Pamela Ballinger |Joseph Matthews

The “Red Poster” of the Vichy Regime (1944) | kitchener.lord / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED On February 21, 2024, the remains of Missak Manouchian and his widow, Melinée, herself a relatively marginal member of the Resistance and best known as the recipient of her husband’s moving final letter, were granted France’s highest honor: transfer to the Pantheon, the magnificent final resting place of Rousseau, Voltaire, Zola, and others to whom the “fatherland is grateful.” It was 80 years to the day since...

Mar 5, 2024 | publicseminar.org | Oana Filip |Liviu Chelcea |Reynard Loki |Pamela Ballinger

Image Credit: “Water Pollution” by HooverStreetStudios is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.Water use has always been an indicator of social relations. In western societies, most treat drinking water as a simultaneously infinite and hyper-individualized resource. But plastic pollution and the climate emergency are forcing us to question our consumption habits. Oana Filip: How did your academic interest in water develop?

Sep 25, 2023 | publicseminar.org | Pamela Ballinger

Image credit: Federico Patellani & Salam 2009/ Wikimedia CommonsOn July 17, 2023, a series of wildfires erupted on the Greek island of Rhodes, with residents of the villages of Dimilia, Salako, Laerma, and Eleousa ordered to evacuate. The blaze soon expanded in scope, with dramatic images of tourists forced to flee their accommodations and, in some instances, even seek shelter in the Mediterranean Sea.