CFP:  FROM TERRONE TO EXTRA-COMUNITARIO: THE NEW RACISM IN CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN CINEMA

 

EDITED VOLUME (TROUBADOR ITALIAN STUDIES SERIES)

 

Has the image of the terrone, long a symbol of "racism" and societal division existing in Italy, been supplanted by that of the extra-comunitario, now that Italian society has been radically and fundamentally modified by the waves of legal and illegal immigrants? And has the traditional expression of "racism," one that formerly did not denote racial difference, also changed as a result?  How are these changes reflected in contemporary Italian cinema? These are some of the issues that this volume of essays aims to explore. 

Among the films that have quintessentially expressed this clash between polentoni and terroni are Rocco and His Brothers, Swept Away and Ciao Professore, to name just a few. However, today the numbers of people who are second and third generation Italian-born has become increasingly more visible in society and in the arts. Indeed, since the children and grandchildren of the first wave of immigrants have long been absorbed, the very definition of "Italian" needs to be reevaluated and redefined. The demographic shifts alluded to above have given birth to an entire sub-genre of film: "migrant cinema in Italy." 

In this book, tentatively titled From Terrone to Extra-Comunitario, the  New Racism in Contemporary Italian Cinema, I propose to collect essays that will explore the evolution of racism as expressed in Italian cinema in the last fifty years. Ideally the essays will examine both manifestations of this phenomenon, the North vs. South traditional conflict and its newer materialization, the "Italian" vs. "foreign" immigrant clash, keeping in mind that the very terms need to be defined in the present historical and societal context. Additionally we will attempt to probe the liminal space existing between the two, try to understand the mechanisms that operate at their interface, and what they portend for the future. 

You may submit papers that address any of the following topics or others deemed to be equally pertinent to this subject, casting your argument in the context of cinema:

·        How has the traditional North vs. South racist discourse been justified during the historical period when the Italian population was still largely racially homogeneous? What are the elements on which this Otherness has long been based?

·        In what fundamental ways have "race" and "ethnicity" been redefined in the last few decades as a result of geopolitical forces and globalization?

·        Has the image of the terrone been supplanted by that of the extra-comunitario or merely been supplemented?

·        Europe is currently divided on issues of immigration (legal and illegal) and its cultural ramifications. These two paradigms are synechdocally represented by Fallaci's Fortress Europe and Habermas' Eurabia. How have these competing visions for Europe's future, and the tensions that they have created, shaped the current self-image of "Italians" and how is this self-image reflected in films?

 

Please send abstracts of 400-500 words to:

Grace Russo Bullaro, 

City University of New York- Lehman College at:

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Deadline: December 31, 2007.