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BJG
Historian of Modern Europe
Scholar of Winemaking under Italian Fascism
Dabbler in All Things Digital Humanities

Brian J Griffith

I am an Assistant Professor of Modern European History at California State University, Fresno. I write and teach courses on the political and cultural history of Italian Fascism, food and beverage history, the history of (trans)nationalism, and Digital and Public History. My current research focuses on the history of industrial-scale winemaking and national identity in Mussolini's Italy (1922-1945), the history of transnational volunteerism during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-1936) and the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), and the history of neo-fascism in Italy between the 1950s and the 2010s.

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What I Do

Research

My current research focuses on the intersections between Fascism, the circulation of commodities, and identity construction in interwar Italy and its immigrant colonies.

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Teaching

I teach courses on Modern Italian, European, and World History, 20th and 21st century fascisms, the history of food, beverages, and consumerism, and Digital and Public History.

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Media

In addition to my research and teaching, I frequently write history-focused opinion and analysis articles and give interviews with media outlets, independent journalists, and podcasts.

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Curriculum Vitae

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
2012–2020

University of California, Santa Barbara

Department of History

Master of Arts (M.A.)
2009–2011

San Francisco State University

Department of History

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
2007–2009

Sonoma State University

Department of History

Employment

Assistant Professor
2023–

California State University, Fresno

Department of History

Visiting Instructor
2022–

Scripps College

Department of History

Visiting Instructor
2022–

University of California, Los Angeles

Department of History

Postdoctoral Scholar
2020–2022

University of California, Los Angeles

Department of History

Lecturer
2020; 2022

University of California, Santa Barbara

Department of History

Selected Fellowships and Grants

2022

“Ad-Hoc” Trinity College Research Grant in Modern Italian History

Cesare Barbieri Endowment
Trinity College

2020–2022

Eugen and Jacqueline Weber Postdoctoral Scholar in European History Fellowship

Department of History
University of California, Los Angeles

2020–2021

Rome Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship in Modern Italian Studies *

American Academy in Rome
* Honor declined

2018–2019

Fulbright Study/Research Grant

Institute of International Education
Sapienza Università di Roma

2015–2016

Council for European Studies Pre-Dissertation Research Fellowship

Council for European Studies
Columbia University

Selected Publications

Articles

"Bacchus among the Blackshirts: Wine Making, Consumerism and Identity in Fascist Italy, 1919-1937"

Contemporary European History 29:4 (November 2020): 394-415

* Winner of the 2021 SIHS Article Prize for Modern Italian History

Chapters

"'Propaganda for Our Italy': Ruth Williams Ricci, Gendered Mobility, and Fascist Italy’s African Empire, 1935-1941"

In Andrea Germer and Jasmin Rückert, eds., Gendering Fascism: Organisations, Bodies, Representations (forthcoming with Brill)

"(Inter)National Spirits: On the Cultural Politics of the Cocktail Craze in Mussolini's Italy, 1920s-1930s"

In David Inglis and Hang Kei Ho, eds., Drinks in Vogue: Understanding the Interplay Between Fashions and Beverages (forthcoming with Routledge)

Public

“Journey to Fascism”

Hoover Digest: Research + Commentary on Public Policy No. 4 (October 2022): 201-219

"Failure to Respond Strongly to Putin’s Aggression Could Prove Catastrophic: How the League of Nations’ Weak Response to Italy’s Invasion of Ethiopia Helped Precipitate World War II"

The Washington Post (February 24, 2022)

Co-authored with Sarah A. Curtis and Jason Lahman, "Blogging in the Classroom: Using a Blog as a Supplemental Resource"

Perspectives on History: The Newsmagazine of the American Historical Association (April 1, 2012)

Download My Curriculum Vitae

To download an extended version of my Curriculum Vitae, featuring my full list of publications, conference and workshop presentations, fellowships, grants, and awards, and professional contributions, please click on the button provided below.

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Research

Wine and Identity in Interwar Italy

Wine and Identity in Interwar Italy

Article, Monograph
The Second Italo-Ethiopian War

The Second Italo-Ethiopian War

Archive, Article, Digital, Monograph, Volume
The Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War

Digital, Volume
Neo-Fascism in Postwar Italy

Neo-Fascism in Postwar Italy

Archive, Digital

Teaching

Topics and Themes

European History

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Food History

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Digital History

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Public History

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Experience

Scripps College

"Eating and Drinking in the Time of Totalitarianism"

Upper-Division Historiography Proseminar

"Gender, Culture, and Authoritarianism in Interwar Europe"

Upper-Division Lecture Course

"Histories of the Present: Crossroads"

Interdisciplinary Humanities Course

UC Los Angeles

"Comparative Fascisms: 1920s-Present"

Upper-Division Historiography Proseminar

"Eating and Drinking in the Time of Totalitarianism"

Upper-Division Historiography Proseminar

"A History of Italy: 1848-Present"

Upper-Division Lecture Course

"Interwar Crisis: Europe, 1918-1939"

Upper-Division Lecture Course

"Europe After Hitler: 1945-Present"

Upper-Division Lecture Course

UC Santa Barbara

"Theories and Practices of Digital History"

PhD-Level Historiography Seminar

"Modern European Political and Cultural History: 1789–Present"

Upper-Division Lecture Course

"Interwar Crisis: Europe, 1918-1939"

Upper-Division Lecture Course

"Food in World History"

Upper-Division Lecture Course

Media

Presentations & Interviews

“Uncorked History: Wine and Identity in Mussolini's Italy”

Uncorked History Podcast with Dr. Jamie L.H. Goodall and Kelly Therese Pollock

A podcast interview on my ongoing research on winemaking and identity construction in interwar Italy.

“Wine Over Time: Fascist Italy”

Wine Over Time Podcast with Dr. Steven Marks and Julia Marks

A podcast interview on my ongoing research on winemaking and identity construction in interwar Italy.

"Wine, Beer, and the Politics of Identity in Fascist Italy"

UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies

A virtual talk on wine and beer marketing battles in Fascist Italy.

Opinions & Perspectives

"Failure to Respond to Putin’s Aggression Could Prove Catastrophic: How the League of Nations’ Weak Response to Italy’s Invasion of Ethiopia Helped Precipitate World War II"

The Washington Post

An OpEd on the comparisons between Benito Mussolini's conquest of Ethiopia (1935-1936) and Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine (2022-).

"The March on Washington"

UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy

An OpEd on the parallels between Trumpism and interwar European fascisms.

"How to Keep the Lights On in Democracies: An Open Letter of Concern by Scholars of Authoritarianism"

New Fascism Syllabus

A co-authored, open letter of concern by scholars of authoritarianism on the dangers of neo-authoritarianism to democracies in North America and beyond.

Community & Engagement

"Interwar Crisis Book Talks"

University of California, Los Angeles

A series of book talks held in conjunction with my course "Interwar Crisis: Europe, 1918-1939" at University of California, Los Angeles during the Spring 2021 and Spring 2022 quarters.

"How the Politics of Prosecco Explain What Took the Fizz Out of the Democrats"

The Guardian

An OpEd by Mark Blyth on the politics of prosecco in Italy, which mentions my research on winemaking under Benito Mussolini's dictatorship.

Weblog

Contact Me

brianjgriffith [at] ucla.edu

Get in touch with me via email

Mastodon

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Academia.edu Profile

View my Academia.edu profile

ORCID Profile

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