Italian Studies. Professor Robert Gordon (Cambridge). Book Launch: Modern Luck: Narratives of Fortune in the Long Twentieth Century (UCL, 2023). Modern Luck sets out to explore the enigma of luck’s presence in modernity, examining the hybrid forms it has taken on in the modern imagination, and in particular in the field of modern stories. Analysing a rich and unusually eclectic range of narrative taken from literature, film, music, television and theatre, it lays out first the usages and meanings of the language of luck, and then the key figures, patterns and motifs that govern the stories told about it, from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Among other things this book considers the survival narrative of Primo Levi. 24 April, 5pm GMT.
The event will take place in person in Samuel Alexander A7 and will be live-streamed on Zoom. To register for this event, either in person or online, please visit our Eventbrite page. For further information, please contact Mara Josi (mara.josi@manchester.ac.uk).