ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Severi, Bompiani and the myth-making in mathematics

• In Event: Shifting Perspectives in Historiography of Science under the Fascist Rule 2

English Abstract

The Fascist regime paid intense attention to the science media, to all that falls under the umbrella of communication, popularisation and spectacularisation of science. However, some mythopoetic events with sure impact occurred also in the realm of mathematics. They included the exhibition of Italian mathematical achievements organised as part of the Chicago World's Fair (1933), the celebrations of Galileo organized under the umbrella of the Accademia d’Italia (1942), and the Mathematics section of the Universal Exhibition in Rome (1942). All these events aimed to answer some key questions: do a Latin spirit and an Italic genius exist in mathematics?; assuming they exist, what characteristics do they possess?; who are the heroes, the champions, the authentic bearers of Italic genius in mathematics?; what priorities or records or leading results (primati) have Italians achieved in mathematics?; what leverages should be mobilized to propagandise to foreigners the leading positions achieved in mathematics?
The talk will address the myth-making in mathematics during the fascist rule, with specific reference to the contributions of two of its main aedes: Francesco Severi and Enrico Bompiani. In a perspective that combines history of mathematics, history of international relations and science diplomacy, the construction and forms of representation of the Latin spirit in mathematics will be investigated. Far from being specific to these case studies, the rhetoric features and the hermeneutic categories that characterized the fascist mythopoesis can be legitimately mobilized to set up an analysis of the monumentalization of national mathematical traditions in other totalitarian regimes.

Author

• Erika Luciano