Julia Claire Pucci researches testimony, historiography, and storytelling in postwar Italy. Her dissertation, “Witnessing the Diaspora: Language, Memory, and (Micro)history in the Works of Primo Levi,” probes the historical narratives and linguistic heritage offered in several of Levi’s works, yielding new reflections on Jewish alterity in the Italian State and the complex relationship between language and identity. Supervisors: Millicent Marcus
When we talk about Primo Levi’s return home, we are generally speaking of La tregua and the meand... more When we talk about Primo Levi’s return home, we are generally speaking of La tregua and the meandering path of switchbacks and setbacks that Levi endured on his trek from Auschwitz to his native Italy. We are also speaking, in the simplest terms, of a hopeful return to familiarity — beyond the Babel of Auschwitz, where translators are not required for the simplest of tasks. In essence, we are talking about the moment in which Levi can speak Italian and expect to be understood. And yet, Levi’s return home to Turin in 1946 is not marked by linguistic comfort. Rather, he is plagued with the incommunicable nature of the Shoah and a problematized linguistic identity as a Jew. In this paper I address just one small aspect of this problematized linguistic identity demonstrated in "Argon", the first chapter of Il sistema periodico — that is, Levi’s proffered experience and account of a highly localized and nearly-dead dialect of Piedmont, Judeo-Piedmontese.
In its passages, the liturgical Shemà and its blessings presents a proud declaration of faith, a ... more In its passages, the liturgical Shemà and its blessings presents a proud declaration of faith, a delineation of reward and punishment, and a comprehensive series of quotidian actions, all geared towards providing the constant reminder of one’s obligations as a Jew. With this perfunctory understanding, it might seem strange that Primo Levi, a man so concerned with the tenets of humanism, would seize on such an ostensibly ‘religious’ formulation. Through a close reading of Levi’s epigraph poem to Se questo è un uomo, alongside the teachings and traditions of the Shemà prayer itself, this essay seeks to offer an interpretation of impegno that extends far beyond the bearer of witness into the consciousness and quotidian action of the listener herself.
Morte a Venezia, directed by Luchino Visconti, is not merely an adaptation of text into film, bu... more Morte a Venezia, directed by Luchino Visconti, is not merely an adaptation of text into film, but also a reworking of the musical life portrait of the original inspiration for Mann’s novella, Gustav Mahler. With regard to the ostensible faith to the feel of the novella, though, Visconti does take considerable liberty with the change of Gustav Von Aschenbach’s profession from writer to that of a composer. The decision for this shift of artistic medium is certainly not unfounded, especially considering the unique narrative challenges of the cinematic form. Regardless of its utility, though, Visconti’s execution of this rewriting comes with certain authenticity issues, namely with regard to the life and intentions of the true composer of the film’s score, Gustav Mahler. Through analysis of the film’s implementation of musical scores and a review of commentaries regarding Mahler’s Third and Fifth Symphonies, this paper seeks to shed light on the ramifications of appropriating Mahler’s art, impelling an in-depth analysis of Visconti’s use of music as narrative.
Acknowledging the considerable ambiguity of the genre applicable to Il sistema periodico, Levi wr... more Acknowledging the considerable ambiguity of the genre applicable to Il sistema periodico, Levi writes of his work, “È, o avrebbe voluto essere, una microstoria, la storia di un mestiere e delle sue sconfitte, vittorie e miserie” (229). Indeed, it is not a chemical treatise as its title vaguely suggests, nor does Il sistema periodico fully realize its potential as an autobiography, at least not in the traditional sense. Rather, Levi maintains that the book is — or would have liked to be — una microstoria, the implications of which are vast. Indeed, Carlo Ginzburg, the father of Italian microhistory, has remarked that “[it is] a passage in Primo Levi in which, to the best of my knowledge, the word microstoria appears in Italian for the first time in an autonomous manner” (Microhistory: Two or Three Things, 15). In this paper I will be pursuing a number of lines of inquiry related to Levi’s usage of the term microstoria, including the term’s tenets as manifest in Levi’s writing, its history, and its relation to Italian neorealism. Through this reading I hope to demonstrate that Levi’s composition of Il sistema periodico represents an important moment in the progression of popular and scholarly representations of alterity, re-contextualizing Levi in a milieu of partisans and survivors keen on rewriting history.
In its passages, the liturgical Shemà and its blessings present a proud declaration of faith, a d... more In its passages, the liturgical Shemà and its blessings present a proud declaration of faith, a delineation of reward and punishment, and a comprehensive series of of quotidian actions, all geared towards providing the constant reminder of one's obligations as a Jew. With this perfunctory understanding, it might seem strange that Primo Levi, a man so concerned with the tenets of humanism, would seize on such an ostensibly 'religious' formulation. Through a close reading of Levi's epigraph poem to "Se questo è un uomo," alongside the teachings and traditions of the Shemà prayer itself, this essay seeks to offer an interpretation of 'impegno' that extends far beyond the bearer of witness into the consciousness and quotidian action of the listener herself.
When we talk about Primo Levi’s return home, we are generally speaking of La tregua and the meand... more When we talk about Primo Levi’s return home, we are generally speaking of La tregua and the meandering path of switchbacks and setbacks that Levi endured on his trek from Auschwitz to his native Italy. We are also speaking, in the simplest terms, of a hopeful return to familiarity — beyond the Babel of Auschwitz, where translators are not required for the simplest of tasks. In essence, we are talking about the moment in which Levi can speak Italian and expect to be understood. And yet, Levi’s return home to Turin in 1946 is not marked by linguistic comfort. Rather, he is plagued with the incommunicable nature of the Shoah and a problematized linguistic identity as a Jew. In this paper I address just one small aspect of this problematized linguistic identity demonstrated in "Argon", the first chapter of Il sistema periodico — that is, Levi’s proffered experience and account of a highly localized and nearly-dead dialect of Piedmont, Judeo-Piedmontese.
In its passages, the liturgical Shemà and its blessings presents a proud declaration of faith, a ... more In its passages, the liturgical Shemà and its blessings presents a proud declaration of faith, a delineation of reward and punishment, and a comprehensive series of quotidian actions, all geared towards providing the constant reminder of one’s obligations as a Jew. With this perfunctory understanding, it might seem strange that Primo Levi, a man so concerned with the tenets of humanism, would seize on such an ostensibly ‘religious’ formulation. Through a close reading of Levi’s epigraph poem to Se questo è un uomo, alongside the teachings and traditions of the Shemà prayer itself, this essay seeks to offer an interpretation of impegno that extends far beyond the bearer of witness into the consciousness and quotidian action of the listener herself.
Morte a Venezia, directed by Luchino Visconti, is not merely an adaptation of text into film, bu... more Morte a Venezia, directed by Luchino Visconti, is not merely an adaptation of text into film, but also a reworking of the musical life portrait of the original inspiration for Mann’s novella, Gustav Mahler. With regard to the ostensible faith to the feel of the novella, though, Visconti does take considerable liberty with the change of Gustav Von Aschenbach’s profession from writer to that of a composer. The decision for this shift of artistic medium is certainly not unfounded, especially considering the unique narrative challenges of the cinematic form. Regardless of its utility, though, Visconti’s execution of this rewriting comes with certain authenticity issues, namely with regard to the life and intentions of the true composer of the film’s score, Gustav Mahler. Through analysis of the film’s implementation of musical scores and a review of commentaries regarding Mahler’s Third and Fifth Symphonies, this paper seeks to shed light on the ramifications of appropriating Mahler’s art, impelling an in-depth analysis of Visconti’s use of music as narrative.
Acknowledging the considerable ambiguity of the genre applicable to Il sistema periodico, Levi wr... more Acknowledging the considerable ambiguity of the genre applicable to Il sistema periodico, Levi writes of his work, “È, o avrebbe voluto essere, una microstoria, la storia di un mestiere e delle sue sconfitte, vittorie e miserie” (229). Indeed, it is not a chemical treatise as its title vaguely suggests, nor does Il sistema periodico fully realize its potential as an autobiography, at least not in the traditional sense. Rather, Levi maintains that the book is — or would have liked to be — una microstoria, the implications of which are vast. Indeed, Carlo Ginzburg, the father of Italian microhistory, has remarked that “[it is] a passage in Primo Levi in which, to the best of my knowledge, the word microstoria appears in Italian for the first time in an autonomous manner” (Microhistory: Two or Three Things, 15). In this paper I will be pursuing a number of lines of inquiry related to Levi’s usage of the term microstoria, including the term’s tenets as manifest in Levi’s writing, its history, and its relation to Italian neorealism. Through this reading I hope to demonstrate that Levi’s composition of Il sistema periodico represents an important moment in the progression of popular and scholarly representations of alterity, re-contextualizing Levi in a milieu of partisans and survivors keen on rewriting history.
In its passages, the liturgical Shemà and its blessings present a proud declaration of faith, a d... more In its passages, the liturgical Shemà and its blessings present a proud declaration of faith, a delineation of reward and punishment, and a comprehensive series of of quotidian actions, all geared towards providing the constant reminder of one's obligations as a Jew. With this perfunctory understanding, it might seem strange that Primo Levi, a man so concerned with the tenets of humanism, would seize on such an ostensibly 'religious' formulation. Through a close reading of Levi's epigraph poem to "Se questo è un uomo," alongside the teachings and traditions of the Shemà prayer itself, this essay seeks to offer an interpretation of 'impegno' that extends far beyond the bearer of witness into the consciousness and quotidian action of the listener herself.
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Julia C Pucci
Papers by Julia C Pucci