George Orwell’s descriptions of cities are an important part of his overall analysis of politics and class. The Barcelona of Homage to Catalonia is revolutionary, vital, and very different from the “deep, deep sleep” of England. But increasingly Orwell turned to a dystopic view of the city, where it became the place of poverty, inequality, and oppression. Vittore Collina follows the transition from the “city of men” to the “city of stone” in Orwell’s urban imagery.
Vittore Collina
has been professor of the history of political doctrines in the Political Science Department at the University of Florence since 1983. Since 2001-02, he has also taught the history of media. His main areas of research include: the ideas of democracy; city, metropolis, and modernity; cultural products; and communications.
