Carlo Ginzburg on the Thread and Traces: Microhistory and the Poetics of Knowledge

Italian historian Carlo Ginzburg, a key figure in microhistory, discusses his practice of inquiry, his relationship with archives, and the 'evidential paradigm' that has renewed historical writing. In an interview republished by artpress following his death, Ginzburg reflects on his book 'Le Fil et les traces' (The Thread and the Traces), which explores the boundaries between history and fiction. He argues that while historical narrative resembles fiction, historians are bound by proof and cannot invent. Ginzburg draws on literary and aesthetic techniques—such as Brechtian estrangement, montage, and Francis Galton's composite portraits—as cognitive tools for historians. He emphasizes the importance of 'effacing, condensing, deleting' in writing, and describes his ongoing dialogue with Aby Warburg's concept of Pathosformeln. Ginzburg also addresses critiques of microhistory, notably from Eric Hobsbawm, and defends the exploration of possibility as a means to reconstruct reality. The interview, conducted by Laurent Jeanpierre, was originally published in artpress n°374, January 2011, pages 54-77.