Giovanni Gugg

Giovanni Gugg is PhD in Cultural Anthropology and lecturer in Urban Anthropology at the Department of Engineering of the University “Federico II” of Naples. He is currently a research fellow at the LESC (Laboratoire d’Ethnologie et de Sociologie Comparative) of the University Paris-Nanterre for the international project “Ruling on Nature. Animals and Environment before the Law”. His research project “Covid-19 and Viral Violence” is funded by the University of Colorado. He is associate fellow at LAPCOS (Laboratoire d’Anthropologie et de Psychologie Cognitives et Sociales) of the University Côte d’Azur in Nice and teaches in several Erasmus Mundus masters courses, such as Dyclam+ coordinated by the University “Jean Monnet” in Saint-Etienne.

His studies concern the relationship between human communities and their environment, especially when it comes to territories at risk. In particular, he has conducted a long ethnography in the red zone of the volcano Vesuvius to understand the motivations that residents give themselves for staying in such a dangerous area; he has also studied the cultural responses after earthquakes and other disasters. He is interested in communication and dissemination, like thematic exhibitions and museums or, more recently, radio and podcasts.

His most recent publications include: “Inquietudini vesuviane. Etnografia del fatalismo su un volcano a rischio” (2020), “Disasters in popular cultures” (2019), “Anthropology of the Vesuvius Emergency Plan” (2019), “The Missing ex-voto. Anthropology and Approach to Devotional Practices during the 1631 Eruption of Vesuvius” (2018), “Vies magmatiques autour du Vésuve : voir et ne pas voir comme stratégie collective” (2017).

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Giovanni-Gugg