Corrado Gini’s ethnographic routes and international relationships during the CISP Mexican expedition

Abstract

In 1933, the Italian statistician, demographer and eugenicist Corrado Gini organized and undertook a scientific expedition to Mexico on behalf of the Italian Committee for Population Studies (CISP). Based on original documents preserved in the Archivio Centrale di Stato in Rome and in the Smithsonian Archives in Washington, this article aims to highlight Gini’s ethnographic interest, which becomes evident through a consideration of the expedition’s questionnaires and records, as well as the multidisciplinary nature of his fieldwork methodology. In addition, an analysis of the documents will explore whether and how the scholarly relationships that Gini forged in Mexico with Emma Reh and Manuel Gamio stimulated the formulation of particular theories and methodological approaches.