Photographer: Colin Dutton
Literature Program, Italian Studies Program, Historical Studies Program, Hannah Arendt Center, and Division of Social Studies present:
The Italians ... and the challenges of
writing about them
John Hooper, Italy correspondent of The Economist magazine and the author of The Italians (Viking, 2015 & 2016)
Monday, February 27, 2017
RKC 103
5:00 pm
This event occurred on:
How did a nation that spawned the Renaissance also produce the Mafia? What exactly is bella figura? And why do Romans eat their gnocchi on Thursdays? Having spent more than 15 years reporting on Italy, John Hooper set out to write a book that answers these and many of the other puzzles that confront outsiders in a society that can be as baffling as it is alluring. The result is The Italians, published by Viking, which has featured in the bestseller lists of The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. In his talk, Hooper will discuss the challenges and rewards of trying to explain a society in which paradox is the norm and in which much is hidden, or coded or left unsaid.