This platform has been created by a group of scholars working on Primo Levi and the Holocaust, in a range of disciplines and educational settings.
It is aimed at students and researchers who are fascinated by Levi’s remarkable work. We aim to gather fresh, experimental, and informed perspectives through a growing, collaborative commentary project.
Explore the commentary
IG-Farbenwerke Auschwitz, Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2007-0068 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC-BY-SA 3.0 de
Our pilot project focused on building a commentary on a single chapter, ‘Il canto di Ulisse’ or ‘The Canto of Ulysses’, arguably the best known chapter from Levi’s first book, Se questo è un uomo / If This is a Man, originally published in 1947.
To start exploring the results, go to The Commentary page, or follow the links at the top of this page for resources on editions, sources, translations, further reading and information on how to contribute.
This site is a partnership between the University of Cambridge and the University of Notre Dame © 2023. We thank our seed fund partners: the Cambridge Humanities Research Grants; the Center for Italian Studies and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, Notre Dame.
The text from Se questo è un uomo / If This is a Man is used by kind permission of Giulio Einaudi Editore SpA.