Italian Colonial Memory, Today: Political Discourses and Cultural Practices

This roundtable explores the entanglement between colonial memories and far-right discourses, milieus, and political practices in contemporary Italy. As scholarly and artistic reflections have been critically grappling with the most shameful aspects of Italy’s colonial past, far-right groups have increasingly appropriated and reinterpreted these historical narratives to fuel nationalist, exclusionary, and self-exculpatory ideologies. The dialogue thus delves into how colonial legacies are selectively retrieved and manipulated to serve contemporary political and cultural agendas, examining the resurgence of imperial nostalgia, the glorification of fascist-era exploits, and the construction of mythologized ideas of national qualities, identity and homogeneity. Through interdisciplinary perspectives, the discussion will illuminate the ways in which these memories and legacies continue to shape and influence far-right rhetoric and political discourses, while also considering the broader socio-political implications for Italy’s and Europe’s present and future. Therefore, the event aims to foster a critical understanding of the persistent impact of colonialism today and the challenges it poses in the context of the rise and consolidation of far-right movements both nationally and transnationally.

Convenor and moderator: Gianmarco Mancosu, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at ILCS - SAS, University of London.

Panellists:

• Marianna Griffini, Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics, International Relations, Sociology, and Anthropology at Northeastern University London.
• Kerry Gibbons, PhD student in Italian studies, University of Warwick.
• Charles Burdett, Director of the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, and Professor in Italian Studies (SAS, University of London).