Grazia De Michele

In June 2005, I was working as an intern at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome. I was not enjoying the experience. One morning, I felt particularly discouraged and started to think about a possible way to escape. I remembered an English scholar, whose article on Italian national identity I had read and appreciated while writing my undergraduate dissertation. I searched for his name on the internet and the picture of a smiling young man came up. I sent him an email asking if there was anything that a student dreaming to become a historian could do in the UK. He replied within a couple of hours offering to speak to me over the phone. In October 2005, I moved to Reading to start my MA followed, in 2006, by a PhD.

Christopher Duggan was a kind, supportive, helpful and friendly supervisor. We had very different approaches to history. Still, he always encouraged me to work on the topics I liked using methodologies that I found stimulating. He gave me the opportunity to do a PhD with a studentship and meet some amazing people, including my husband.

I never called him by his first name. It sounded impolite to my Italian ears. I never expressed my affection to him either. He was such a reserved person. Since he left this world, though, I have taken the habit, whenever I think of him, to say: “Ti voglio bene, Christopher”.

Leo Goretti

I vividly remember the first time I met Christopher, in 2008. It was also my first time in the UK, and I felt somehow out of my element: even crossing the street was quite an undertaking. Christopher welcomed me in his office with a gentle smile; we talked a little about the history of peasantry in Italy and my PhD project, he was able to reassure and encourage me, especially as far as my English was concerned: there was no reason to be worried, he said, it was ok (it actually wasn’t, but I guess Christopher understood that there was time enough to work on it).

Almost four years later, he welcomed me again in his office right after my viva. I was not at my happiest, and Christopher noticed it. He told me some things and I understood that he knew better than I expected how I felt. I genuinely appreciated it.

Christopher Duggan was the person thanks to whom I was able to spend five years of my life in the UK and grow – not just as a scholar, but as a person. He will be missed.

George Newth

Christopher’s role was not just as a supervisor, but also as a mentor; he had a capacity to appreciate and empathize with my individual circumstances and to respond accordingly. A typical supervisory meeting with Christopher would begin with a long session in which he would ensure that I was happy in both my personal and professional life and that I was not pushing myself too hard by studying and working at the same time.

However, Christopher also encouraged me to take on new roles I might never have applied for and present papers at conferences I had previously felt to be too difficult.

In my search for funding, Christopher was tireless in his ongoing support and encouragement, which was a perfect a reflection of his kind and helpful nature. He wrote countless letters of reference and reminded me that in the event that my applications were unsuccessful, that I should nevertheless try to pursue my research.

Christopher always made me feel that my research was important and without his support and mentorship during some difficult periods, I would have left academia by now. I will miss him terribly; but his integrity, attention to truth and humane approach as a historian will continue to act as an inspiration.