‘The Hero of Doubt: Selected Writings by Ernesto Nathan Rogers’ is published by MIT Press, a book edited and introduced by AA alum Roberta Marcaccio

The Hero of Doubt: Selected Writings by Ernesto Nathan Rogers showcases the intellectual power and scope of one of the most influential yet, paradoxically, unrecognised exponents of the modern movement – the British-Italian architect, editor, critic and educator Ernesto Rogers (1909–69). The publication is edited and introduced by AA alum Roberta Marcaccio, who originally received funding for the project through the AA Research Publications Fellowship.

Accompanied by an introduction by Marcaccio and a critical essay by the distinguished scholar Joan Ockman, the texts in this volume reveal how Rogers positioned himself as a mediator between the heroic generation of the modern masters and the younger intellectuals through writing and practising at a time of deep cultural crisis.

Newly translated from Italian, the texts included cover a period of 33 years, from Rogers's initial adherence to fascism and his subsequent struggle as a Jewish intellectual after the proclamation of the racial purity laws, to his poignant post-war reflections on the issues of reconstruction, the education of the architect and, more broadly, the architect's role in society. Tracing his nuanced critique of the excesses and inadequacies of both fascism and the utopianism of modernism, the publication fills a gap within the history of the modern movement and provides a more layered understanding of postmodernity in Italy and beyond.

In addition to the AA, this project has been made possible by generous grants from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

The publication is available for purchase from 21 January 2025. Click here for more information about the publication.

Image: Cover of The Hero of Doubt: Selected Writings by Ernesto Nathan Rogers.