Today the distinguished historian Professor Carlo Ginzburg, will launch the annual Darwin Lecture series, which this year focuses on the theme of evidence. His talk is entitled Representing the enemy: historical evidence and its ambiguities.

His lecture will explore the ambiguities of historical evidence focusing on a book published anonymously in Brussels in 1864: Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu (Dialogue in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu).

"Joly's book had an unpredictable aftermath, since some sections of it were plagiarized in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the 20th century anti-semitic bestseller," explains Professor Ginzburg. "After the discovery of the plagiarism, the Dialogue in Hell has been often reprinted and translated into several languages; but so far, I will argue, its originality has not been adequately recognized."

Carlo Ginzburg, born in Torino 1939, is currently Franklin D Murphy Professor of Italian Renaissance Studies at UCLA. His several books include The Night Battles; The Cheese and the Worms; The Enigma of Piero; Myths, Emblems, Clues; Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath; History, Rhetoric, and Proof; Wooden Eyes; No Island is an Island.

Darwin Lectures
The Darwin Lectures, a series of public lectures run in the second term of each academic year, were established in 1986 and quickly established themselves as one of the highlights of the University's yearly programme of public education.

The lectures are given at 5.30pm in Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Avenue. An adjacent overflow theatre is provided with live TV coverage. Each lecture is typically attended by 600 people, and it is advisable to arrive around half an hour early to ensure a place. The lectures will be published as a book within the Darwin Series by Cambridge University Press.

Next week's lecture will be given by writer and broadcaster Karen Armstrong.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.