The Challenges of a Conversation Cutting Across Social Boundaries, and Their Paradigms: Remembering Carlo Ginzburg (1939-2026)

Carlo Ginzburg is remembered in a discussion of narratives and ways of writing history through a comparison with a living Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Francesco Ranci touches on a wide range of subjects from Ginzburg’s research methods to today’s educational practices.

In an influential TED talk entitled The Danger of a Single Story, Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns her audiences (both individuals present at the talk, and potential online viewers) that the problematic outcome of having a “single story” in mind is not the “true or false” aspect of the narrative, but the lack of alternatives.
The “single story” is often about someone else – as shown by everyday behaviors and conversations – and by politicians, who draw on everyday language especially when campaigning. However, it always leads to an over-generalized assumption through the unfounded claim of being the “definitive” story (or the “Truth” with a capital T).

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