Wooden Eyes
by Carlo Ginzburg
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"I am a Jew who was born and who grew up in a Catholic country; I never had a religious education; my Jewish identity is in large measure the result of persecution." This brief autobiographical statement is a key to understanding Carlo Ginzburg's interest in the topic of his latest book: distance. In nine linked essays, he addresses the question: "What is the exact distance that permits us to see things as they are?" To understand our world, suggests Ginzburg, it is necessary to find a show more balance between being so close to the object that our vision is warped by familiarity or so far from it that the distance becomes distorting. Opening with a reflection on the sense of feeling astray, of familiarization and defamiliarization, the author goes on to consider the concepts of perspective, representation, imagery, and myth. Arising from the theme of proximity is the recurring issue of the opposition between Jews and Christians--a topic Ginzburg explores with an impressive array of examples, from Latin translations of Greek and Hebrew scriptures to Pope John Paul II's recent apology to the Jews for antisemitism. Moving with equal acuity from Aristotle to Marcus Aurelius to Montaigne to Voltaire, touching on philosophy, history, philology, and ethics, and including examples from present-day popular culture, the book offers a new perspective on the universally relevant theme of distance. show lessTags
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49+ Works 4,851 Members
Carlo Ginzburg is Professor Emeritus of History at UCLA and the author of, among other things, The Night Battles and The Cheese and the Worms (the first of his hooks to appear in English, winning instant acclaim).
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- A distance. Neuf essais sur le point de vue en histoire
- Original title
- Occhiacci di legno. Nove riflessioni sulla distanza
- Original publication date
- 1998
- Original language*
- Italien
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- 8 — English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
- 1
