The Grapes of Desire: Fascist Agricultural Projects in Libya CIMS Seminar in the Environmental Humanities by Professor Michele Monserrati (Smith College)

The Cultural Identity and Memory Studies Insititute (CIMS) invites everyone to join this seminar by Professor Michele Monserrati (Smith College) on ‘The Grapes of Desire: Fascist Agricultural Projects in Libya'.

This seminar focuses on human culture as applied to forms of agricultural cultivation. Grapevines are considered as a vehicle that carries culture rather than as passive beings for human exploitation. Professor Monserrati leaves aside the instrumental use of vines for economic gains to focus on the desire that motivates humans to plant vines in the desert.

What is the nature of Fascist infatuations for cultivating grapevines in Libya? To answer this question, the talk will reflect on the cultural significance of grapevines in the context of the Fascist imperial propaganda.