Christopher Duggan


Christopher John Hesketh Duggan was a British historian and academic. He specialised in the political, social and cultural history of modern Italy. He began his career as a research fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford and then at All Souls College, Oxford. In 1987, he moved to the University of Reading where he remained until his death. He was Professor of Modern Italian History from 2002.

Early life and education

On 4 November 1957, Duggan was born to Margaret and John Duggan in Petts Wood, Kent, England. His mother was a nurse and social worker, and his father worked as a shipbroker. He was educated at Dulwich College, an all-boys public school in London, and at Westminster School, an all-boys public school in the grounds of Westminster Abbey. At the age of 11, he won an essay competition and was awarded a Mediterranean cruise as the prize.
Between school and university, Duggan went on holiday to Italy and explored the country on a Honda CB175 motorbike. He then studied history at Merton College, Oxford. He was mostly interested in medieval history at the beginning of his studies, but became interested in the history of modern Italy after being taught by Denis Mack Smith. He graduated with a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979.
Having completed his bachelor's degree, Duggan spent a year living in Italy. He once had his flat raided by the DIGOS, the Italian anti-terrorist and organised crime unit, because they suspected him of being a foreign subversive; however, he was not arrested or charged. He returned to the University of Oxford to complete a Doctor of Philosophy degree under the supervision of Mack Smith. His thesis was completed in 1985 and was titled "Fascism's campaign against the mafia".

Academic career

Duggan began his academic career as a junior research fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford between 1983 and 1985. From 1985 to 1990, he was a post-doctoral research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. During this period, he assisted Mack Smith and Moses Finley with updating their A History of Sicily book; this revised version was published in 1986. His first major work, Fascism and the Mafia, grew out of his DPhil, and was published in Italian in 1986 and in English in 1989. From 1990 to 1997, he retained a link with All Souls College, having been elected a Fifty-Pound Fellow.
In 1987, Duggan joined the University of Reading as a lecturer in history. Unusually for a historian, he was not based in the Department of History but in the Department of European Studies. He taught Italian history, politics, culture and language. In 1994, he was promoted to Reader. In 2002, he was appointed Professor of Modern Italian History. From 2008 to 2013, he was Head of the School of Languages and European Studies.
Shortly before his death, Duggan had been appointed to a research professorship in the Department of History, Reading, and had been elected as a Two Year Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford.
Duggan wrote books about Italian history. A Concise History of Italy allowed him to return to his original interest in medieval history. The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy since 1796 focuses on Italy in the 19th and 20th centuries. Francesco Crispi 1818–1901, the first biography on Prime Minister Francesco Crispi, explores Crispi's evolution from a revolutionary democrat to a bellicose authoritarian and his role in the unification of Italy. In his book Fascist Voices, he used the diaries, memoirs and letters of thousands of ordinary Italian citizens to investigate why so many had closely identified with the early 20th-century fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.

Death

Duggan was found dead on 2 November 2015 at his home in Twickenham, London. He was 57 years of age. A memorial service was held in the chapel of All Souls College, Oxford on 12 December. A full inquest into his death recorded a verdict of suicide.

Personal life

Duggan met his wife Jennifer Mundy at the University of Oxford, and they married in 1987. She is an art historian and was the Head of Art Historical Research at the Tate Gallery. They had two children: Amelia and Thomas.

Honours

In 2013, Duggan's book Fascist Voices was awarded the prestigious Wolfson History Prize. He received £25,000 in prize money. His doctoral supervisor and mentor, Denis Mack Smith, had been awarded the same prize 36 years earlier. Fascist Voices was also named Political History Book of the Year during the Political Book Awards of 2013.
In 2008, Duggan was appointed a Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana by the Italian president. This is one of the highest honours Italy can give to a foreign citizen.

Selected works

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