Revisioning Italy: National Identity And Global Culture Project Muse Upcc Books

More than any other nation, Italy -- from its imperial past to its subordinate present, from its colonial forays to its splendid isolation -- embodies the myriad and contradictory historical forms of nationhood. This volume covers a range of subjects drawn from Italy and abroad to study Italian national identity. Whether considering opera or Ninja Turtles, the essays reveal how cultural identity is constructed and manipulated -- an issue made urgent by the influx of African, Indochinese, and Eastern European immigrants into Italy today. Topics include exile, nationalism, and imagined communities, Italy's colonial "unconscious", and Mussolini's adventures in North Africa. More than any other nation, Italy—from its imperial past to its subordinate present, from its colonial forays to its splendid isolation—embodies the myriad and contradictory historical forms of nationhood. This volume covers a range of subjects drawn from Italy and abroad to study the historical and contemporary formations of Italian national identity. In doing so, the work illuminates Italy past and present as well as the local and global dimensions of national identity in general. Whether considering opera or Ninja Turtles, these essays reveal how cultural identity is constructed and manipulated-an issue made urgent by the influx of African, Indochinese, and Eastern European immigrants into Italy today. Exile, nationalism, and imagined communities are the topics of several essays, including Antonio Negri's reflection on his own experience of political militancy and exile. Others focus on Italy's colonial "unconscious," Mussolini's adventures in North Africa, and racism from the late nineteenth century to the present. By analyzing Italy's European and Mediterranean identities, its highly regional character, its north-south economic imbalance, and its ethnic complexity, this truly interdisciplinary volume resists the hierarchizing and monumentalizing of traditional Italian studies in the United States. It will inform and redirect our understanding of what constitutes "Italy." Contributors: Mohamed Aden; John Agnew, Syracuse U; Ayele Bekerie, Cornell U; Elaine K. Chang, Rutgers U; Antonio Marazzi, U of Padua, Italy; Francesca Miller, U of California, Davis; Antonio Negri, U of Paris VIII, France; Graziella Parati, Dartmouth College; Karen Pinkus, Northwestern U; Paul Robinson, Stanford U; Pasquale Verdicchio, U of California, San Diego; Marguerite R. Waller, U of California, Riverside; and David Ward, Wellesley College. Pt. I. Culture And Place: Italy As A European Country. The Myth Of Backward Italy In Modern Europe / John Agnew. Italy, Exile Country / Antonio Negri. They're Not Children Anymore: The Novelization Of Italians And Terrorism / Beverly Allen. Italy In Italy: Old Metaphors And New Racisms In The 1990s / David Ward -- Pt. Ii. Impositions, Race, And Colonization. Italy: Cultural Identity And Spatial Opportunism From A Postcolonial Perspective / Mohamed Aden. African Americans And The Italo-ethiopian War / Ayele Bekerie. Shades Of Black In Advertising And Popular Culture / Karen Pinkus. Is Aida An Orientalist Opera? / Paul Robinson -- Pt. Iii. Immigrations. Strangers In Paradise: Foreigners And Shadows In Italian Literature / Graziella Parati. Beverly Allen And Mary Russo, Editors. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This volume covers a range of subjects to study Italian national identity. Essays reveal how cultural identity is constructed and manipulated--an issue made urgent by the influx of African, Indochinese, and Eastern European immigrants into Italy today. Topics include exile, nationalism, imagined communities, Italy's colonial "unconscious", and Mussolini's adventures in North Africa. Illustrated.