Alessandro Portelli Lecture and Interview – ‘The Fosse Ardeatine: History and Meaning of a Nazi Massacre in Rome’

Iona Ramsay and Maria Teresa Marangoni
University of Exeter

The following lecture was given by Professor Alessandro Portelli during his recent trip to Exeter to take part in a PGR workshop on oral history. He was also interviewed by Professor Kate Fisher about his experiences of doing oral history.

Alessandro Portelli has taught American Literature at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”. He is the founder and president of the Circolo Gianni Bosio for the critical study of people’s cultures. He has served as advisor on historical memory to the Mayor of Rome (2005-2008). Among his books are The Order Has Been Carried Out. History, Memory and Meaning of a Nazi Massacre in Rome (2003); They Say in Harlan County: An Oral History (2011); Hard Rain. Bob Dylan, Oral Cultures and the Meaning of History (2017); and most recently, Dal rosso al nero. La svolta a destra di una città operaria (From Red to Black. The right-wing turn of a working-class town, 2022).

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