Borders, Captivity and Memory in Transnational Italy and the Mediterranean: virtual symposium 3/18 and 4/08

Eleanor Paynter Discussion

We invite you to save the date and register for the following virtual symposium, to be held on March 18 and April 8, 2022, via zoom. Please share with colleagues and students who may be interested:

Borders, Captivity and Memory in Transnational Italy and the Mediterranean 

virtual symposium 

March 18 and April 8, 2022 

This two-day virtual symposium explores the relationship between borders, captivity, and memory, and how it shapes the racialization of migration and the construction of national identity. Given Italy’s porous position as a Southern European nation with complex histories of internal migration, emigration, and immigration, Italy and the Mediterranean region are critical contexts for understanding how processes of migration, racialization, and transcultural mediation have shaped public and cultural discourse about identity and belonging from nineteenth century emigration and colonialism, to today's arrivals via the Mediterranean Sea. This symposium brings together scholars, writers, practitioners, activists, and students working in multiple fields and historical periods to explore questions of migration, incarceration, race, and memory in Italy and the Mediterranean in a transnational and transhistorical perspective. 

Each of the symposium’s two thematic days (9:45am - 4:15pm ET) will feature two roundtable discussions, a keynote session, and reflection sessions for undergraduate and graduate students. 

Friday, March 18Racial Justice and the Black Mediterranean (register: https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AhzcL5tlTQa39NUYCZro0Q)

  • 9:45am – 11:30am ET Welcome and Roundtable 1: cultural, legal, and sociological perspectives on racial justice in Italy and the Mediterranean 
  • 12:00pm – 1:30pm ET Keynote: Racial Justice and the Black Mediterranean, featuring Camilla Hawthorne and Angelica Pesarini in dialogue, with Simone Brioni and Teresa Fiore as discussants 
  • 1:30pm – 2:15pm ET student reflection session, facilitated by Simone Brioni and Teresa Fiore (open to undergraduate and graduate students at any institution) 
  • 2:45pm – 4:15pm ET Roundtable 2: “Italian others”: histories of racialized migration and diaspora between the 19th century and the present 

Friday, April 8: Language, Identity, and Representation in Transnational Italy 
(register: 
https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nxqSDCUHRSySOJJQ8CAKXA)

  • 9:45am – 11:30am ET Welcome and Roundtable 1: translation, testimony, and storytelling across borders  
  • 12:00pm – 1:30pm ET Keynote: Language, Identity, and Representation in Transnational Italy, featuring Amara Lakhous and Igiaba Scego in dialogue, with Ron Kubati and Loredana Polezzi as discussants 
  • 1:30pm – 2:15pm ET student reflection session (open to undergraduate and graduate students at any institution) 
  • 2:45pm – 4:15pm ET Roundtable 2: readings and discussion to celebrate the launch of Contemporary Italian Diversity in Critical and Fictional Narratives (Farleigh Dickinson UP 2021), eds. Marie Orton, Ron Kubati, and Graziella Parati 

This event is open to all, and we encourage student participation. Details and website to follow shortly.

For questions, contact organizers Elena Bellina, University of Rochester, ebellina@esm.rochester.edu; and Eleanor Paynter, Cornell University, ebp49@cornell.edu 

Organized through the Central New York Humanities Corridor (LLC35) and co-sponsored by the Montclair State University Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies; the AAIS Critical Race Studies Caucus; Cornell's Migrations initiative, Einaudi Center for International Studies, the Institute for European Studies, and the Department of Romance Studies; the University of Rochester's Humanities Center and the Department of Humanities in the Eastman School of Music.