Transcultural Italies

The history of Italians and of modern Italian culture stems from multiple experiences of mobility and migration: between the late 19th century and the early 20th century, 27 million Italians migrated and 60 to 80 million people worldwide see their identity as connected with the Italian diaspora. Since the time of Italian unification, a series of narratives about mobility have been produced both inside and outside the boundaries of Italy, by agents such as the Italian state, international organizations or migrant communities themselves.

The essays in Transcultural Italies follow the multiple trajectories of this complex history and of its representations. They do so by focusing on the key concepts and practices of mobility, memory and translation. Taken together, they represent a contrapuntal series of case studies that offers a fresh perspective on the study of modern and contemporary Italy. The essays in the volume explore the meanings that ‘transnational’ and ‘transcultural’ assume when applied to the notion of Italian culture.

Contributors: Charles Burdett, Jennifer Burns, Derek Duncan, Chiara Giuliani, Viviana Gravano, Giulia Grechi, Margaret Hills de Zárate, Eliana Maestri, Valerie McGuire, Loredana Polezzi, Barbara Spadaro, Ilaria Vanni, Naomi Wells, Rita Wilson