Speaker Series: "Italian Fascism in Global Context"

Today, we need to understand how Fascism, of Italian origins, operates on a global stage. Historians often point to Benito Mussolini’s regime as the first Fascism, an archetype for far-right regimes to come.

In October 2022, Giorgia Meloni was elected Prime Minister of Italy.  Her party, Fratelli d’Italia, will lead the most conservative coalition to hold power since the Blackshirts marched on Rome. From the dark dawn of Fascism in 1922 to the Neo-Fascist resurgence in 2022, old themes repeat in new ways. Calls to increase white birthrates and promote “traditional” families parallel demands to restrict gay rights and immigration across the Mediterranean passage. Sadly, Strong Man politics are on the rise in many nations, and slogans like “Italians first” have a new, global resonance.

This talk series brings together three leading scholars of Fascism, Neo-Fascism, gender, and migration to ask a series of critical questions: Why are so many Strong Men women? How did Fascist imperialism set the stage for later autocracies? What happens when Fascism travels?

Please join us for these illuminating discussions.

For more information, please contact Prof. Diana Garvin, dgarvin@uoregon.edu.

Speakers:

Prof. Pamela Ballinger 

U Michigan, History Department Chair, Fred Cuny Chair in the History of Human Rights
Thursday, January 26, 2023
4pm, Knight Library Browsing Room

Prof. Mia Fuller 

UC Berkeley, Italian Studies Department Chair, Gladyce Arata Terrill Distinguished Professor 
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
4:30pm, Knight Library Browsing Room

Prof. Emma Bond 

Oxford U, Italian and Comparative Studies, Oriel College Lecturer (Professor) of Italian
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
5:30pm, Knight Library Browsing Room