(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)October 8, 2009

(MAHWAH, NJ) – Renowned Italian historian, scholar and author Stanislao G. Pugliese, Ph.D. will be lecturing on his biography, “Bitter Spring: A Life of Ignazio Silone” at Ramapo College this month.

Ignazio Silone, one of the major figures of twentieth century European literature, is the subject of Pugliese’s award-winning biography. Silone was a founding member of the Italian Communist Party  and was  later expelled from the group. Nevertheless, he was a constant voice in antifascism publications in the 1930’s, and during World War II, the U.S. Army circulated Silone’s works throughout Italy during the country’s Nazi Occupation. Silone was also highly critical of Soviet oppression during the Cold War.

After debates on the authenticity of Silone’s loyalties arose in the late 1990’s, Pugliese published “Bitter Spring: A Life of Ignazio Silone,” the first full-length biography on Silone to be published in English, as well as one of the most comprehensive works on the author available. The biography, winner of the 2008 Frankel Prize in Contemporary History, paints a portrait of a complex figure, one of the greatest writers against totalitarianism set amid one of the most troubled times in history, whose life and work bears themes which have lasting modernity.

Pugliese is a professor of modern European history at Hofstra University. He is a former research fellow at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia University, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and the University of Oxford. Pugliese is also the author of “Carlo Rosselli: Socialist Heretic and Antifascist Exile,” which has been translated into Italian, Russian and Romanian, as well as a number of other articles and book reviews.

The event is sponsored by Il Circolo Italiano, Ramapo College’s Italian Club. The lecture will be held Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Robert A. Scott Student Center, room 219, and will be accompanied with traditional Italian foods. It is free and open to the public.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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