What does it mean to be Italian in 2020? How do young adults, the aging, members of the LGBTQ community, second-generation Italians and immigrants negotiate and construct their identities in Italy today? More specifically, what are the personal histories of these individuals and groups in a nation where ideologies of an imagined homogeneity persist, yet day-to-day, lived experiences shore up visions of a “modern,” multifaceted Italy?
Building on these questions, this course will examine the increasing presence, participation, and visibility of traditionally marginalized persons in Italy. Following a historical introduction that gives context to the Unification and subsequent nation-building projects in Italy, the course draws on an archive of interdisciplinary texts of multiple mediums (visual, auditory, etc.) to illustrate conventions, trends, and exceptions of be(com)ing Italian in 2020.
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“Representation FOR stereotypes is a huge problem because it flattens and reduces our identities to simple cardboard shapes. But the representation OF stereotypes is not bad: to condemn it would represent a further risk of discrimination, more subtle but equally terrifying. Stereotypes and clichés exist because they originate from the observation (albeit limited and limiting) of “common” characters in others: what must be rejected is the superficial, instrumental, prejudicial use of these characters, but not the very fact that they have a place in people.”
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- Pietro Turano, actor in SKAM Italia & Vice President of Arcigay Roma