The Languages of Discrimination and Racism in Italy in the 20th Century

2018 marks the 80th anniversary of the Italian anti-Jewish Racial laws of 1938; we consider this dramatic event as a starting point to investigate on the languages, practices, representations, and memories of race and racisms in Italy in the 20th century. In this workshop we will look at the ways, the means and at the languages in which racism has found expression and agency in Italy in different geographical and historical contexts.

Program
9:30 am Welcome Remarks and Introduction 
Ellyn Toscano, Executive Director, NYU Florence
Marcella Simoni, NYU Florence and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Davide Lombardo, NYU Florence

10:00 am Racism in Italy During Fascism and Beyond? 
Chair: Marcella Simoni, NYU Florence and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
Panelists: Arturo Marzano, University of Pisa, The Racial Laws in Italy: Short and Long-term Implications 
Annalisa Capristo, Center for American Studies in Rome, “Gather What You Can and Flee”: Mussolini’s Race Laws and the Jewish Intellectual Emigration from Fascist Italy 
Toshio Miyake, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, The ‘Japanese Race’ in “La Difesa Della Razza” (1938-43): Whiteness and Yellowness in Fascist Italy 
Vito Zagarrio, Roma Tre University, “Harlem’s” Ghost: Racism in Fascist Cinema and the Representation of Rascism in Italian Cinema

12:00 pm Lunch on Campus

2:15 pm Migrations and Diasporas 
Chair: Debora Spini, NYU Florence
Laura De Giorgi, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Notions of Race and Civilization in Italian Travel Literature about China from Facism to the Cold War 
Anna Marsden, Independent Scholar, Impact of Discrimination and Ethnic Labeling on Second Generation Chinese in Italy 
Kathryn Lum, University of Nottingham, Racism and the Indian Communities in Italy 
Monica Gonzalez Correa, European University Institute, www.monitoracism.eu 

4:15 Coffe-Break

4:30 pm The Evolving Italian Context 
Chair: Davide Lombardo, NYU Florence
Eva Garau, University of Cagliari, From Strangers to Enemies: A Historical Account of Italian Legislation on Immigration and Citizenship 
Angelica Pesarini, NYU Florence, La Difesa Della Razza: The Resurgence of the Language of Race in the Italian Political Discourse 
Gaia Giuliani, University of Coimbra, Race, Gender and the Nation in Contemporary Italy 
Debora Spini, NYU Florence, The Racialization of Religion in Italy

6:30 pm Conclusions and Future Perspectives
Marcella Simoni, NYU Florence and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice