Italian Studies/Cultural Studies

“Tricky theoretical questions are taken on with enthusiastic verve and great acumen. Revisioning Italy is downright exciting.” Keala Jewell, Dartmouth College

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, 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. Topics include exile, nationalism, imagined communities, Italy’s colonial “unconscious,” and Mussolini’s adventures in North Africa.

Contributors: Mohamed Aden, John Agnew, Ayele Bekerie, Elaine K. Chang, Antonio Marazzi, Francesca Miller, Antonio Negri, Graziella Parati, Karen Pinkus, Paul Robinson, Pasquale Verdicchio, Marguerite R. Waller, and David Ward.

Beverly Allen is associate professor of French, Italian, comparative literature, and women’s studies at Syracuse University. She is the author of Rape Warfare, also published by the University of Minnesota Press.

Mary Russo is professor of literature and critical theory at Hampshire College.

University of Minnesota Press
Printed in U.S.A.
Cover design by Dennis Anderson
Cover photo CREDIT TO COME