The module aims to enhance students' understanding of how mobility and immigration have shaped identities in Italy in recent decades. Students will develop a detailed knowledge of Italy’s history as a former colonial power and explore the impact of postcoloniality on national cultures. These questions will be explored in relation to Italy’s identity as a destination country in global migratory flows through an analysis of a selection of contemporary novels and short stories. The topics discussed will include the impact of displacement on subjectivity; the problematic notion of home; the memory of Italy’s colonial past; agency, intersectionality and voice; language and translation. The analysis of the texts will be informed by theories of personal, cultural, and national identity construction and students will develop an awareness of how terms such as transnationalism, postcolonialism, hybridity and multiculturalism can be applied to the Italian case.

This module will be open to all students across the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, including those who are not taking Italian language.

Core Texts*