Lindsay Harris will give a shoptalk on the first chapter of her current book, Photography and the Myths of Primitivism in Italy (1910–1960). A contribution to the history of photography and modern Italian studies, her book explores the myths of primitivism—collective fantasies about original purity as an antidote to the iniquities of modern life, or shared anxieties about persistent atavism—that inspired Italians and foreigners alike to turn to photography both to document and catalyze modernization in Italy in the first half of the twentieth century. In her talk, she will explore how the northern Italian writer Arnaldo Cervesato used photography in his 1910 publication, Latina Tellus, to portray the Roman Campagna as both “the cradle and grave of civilization” as part of a major campaign to redeem the region from poverty, disease, and illiteracy.

Harris (2014 Fellow) is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the School of Classical Studies at the American Academy in Rome.

The shoptalk will be held in English. You can watch this event live at https://livestream.com/aarome.