A Tribute to a Micro-Historian

Potlatch editor Yehuda Safran and frequent contributor to the infrequently published journal Daniel Sherer convened a panel at Princeton University’s Betts Auditorium to discuss an interview they conducted with Italian historian Carlo Ginzburg in the spring of 2022. The proceedings, oftentimes mired in abstruse language, delved into Ginzburg’s career and his role in the development of microhistory, a novel historical method pioneered in the 1970s that emphasizes the margins over the center, the role of individuals in events, and the multiplicity of historical contexts. Safran and Sherer shared the stage with fellow historians Eva Del Soldato, Francesca Trivellato, and Spyros Papapetros, who further elaborated on the genre’s analytical recalibrations. The conversation then shifted to reflections on architecture and methods: “More than any other art form, architecture has many constraints, many contexts and inquisitors—the building code, planners, clients,” said Sherer. “Architecture requires a multi-contextual approach. It must have a polycentric message.”