Guest Speaker: Angelo M. Caglioti, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Barnard College, Columbia University

Moderator: Joseph Giacomelli, Assistant Professor of Environmental History, Duke Kunshan University

Time and Date: Friday December 9, 9:00 BJT / Thursday December 8, 20:00 EST

Zoom ID: 940 920 4229

Abstract

Aridity was the most important feature that characterized Italian colonialism in North and East Africa (Libya, Eritrea, Somalia, and briefly in Ethiopia). The lack of reliable water resources other than highly seasonal rivers and capricious weather patterns had a tremendous impact on African societies, Italian empire-building, and colonial meteorology. The study of the weather was crucial for agriculture, human settlement, and warfare, as seasonal variations and El Niño cycles shaped the dynamics of African ecologies. Building on the study of Italian colonial meteorology between the nineteenth and twentieth century, my research aims at making climate and ecology essential actors in the history of Italian imperialism, thus bridging the fields of history of science, environmental history, and the history of European colonialism. The presentation will focus on the coproduction of Fascist imperialism and Italian meteorology in the interwar period.

Bio

Dr. Angelo M. Caglioti joined the Department of History at Barnard in 2020. His scholarly interests intersect environmental history, history of science, and late modern European history, with a particular focus on nineteenth and twentieth century Italy. In European history, his research and teaching deal with the history of European imperialism and Italian Fascism. In environmental history, his work is concerned with climate history and the history of the climate crisis, as well as with the management of water resources. In history of science, his research deals with the history of climate science and meteorology, eugenics and racial science, and the relationship between science and colonialism. 

The Duke Kunshan Seminar Series on Environment and History is hosted by the Center for the Study of Contemporary China and the Environmental Research Center. Please email your inquiries to series organizers Zhaojin Zeng and Joseph Giacomelli.