Journeys at the periphery: Eric Hobsbawm in Spain and Italy, 1951-c.1970

• Department of History

In the framework of a series of lectures organised by the EUI Intellectual History Working Group, Emile Chabal (University of Edinburgh) will give a talk on his ongoing project.

During this session of the EUI Intellectual History Working Group, we will discuss a pre-circulated chapter by Emile Chabal, which is part of his ongoing project regarding the life and work of the historian Eric Hobsbawm. The chapter is part of a section of the book that deals with his encounters and influence beyond the UK. Specifically, the chapter looks at Hobsbawm's first encounter with Spain and Italy in the early 1950s and his "method" of fieldwork, which percolated into his early writings such as Primitive Rebels, Bandits, and his journalistic essays. We will discuss how places, personal encounters, and even physical environments shaped Hobsbawm’s thought, as well as the challenges of writing an intellectual biography and the history of twentieth-century global Marxism.

To get access to the chapter, please contact the event organiser. The chapter we will discuss is a work in progress; we kindly ask you not to circulate it outside this event.

Please register in order to get a seat.