HomeItalians in the Middle East and North Africa (1861-1950): between migration and the construction of an Italian identity

Italians in the Middle East and North Africa (1861-1950): between migration and the construction of an Italian identity

Les Italien·nes au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord (1861-1950) : entre migrations et construction d’une identité italienne

Gli italiani in Medio Oriente e Nord Africa (1861-1950): tra migrazioni e costruzione di un’identità italiana

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Published on Friday, May 03, 2024

Abstract

This symposium proposes to discuss the construction and the recognition of an Italian national identity within the Italian colonies established in the countries of the MENA region. At the same time, t will analyze the reception and definition of Italianness by local societies in a 19th-century colonial context.

Announcement

Organization Committee

  • Maeva MEYER (IHRIM (UMR5317) Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 – Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”)
  • Maddalena ZAGLIO (Global Studies Institute – Université de Genève)

Argument

As soon as the first wars of independence broke out, many Italians left the Peninsula to settle in the regions of the Ottoman Empire. Indeed, from Libya to Syria via Egypt, many Italians migrated to the Middle East and North Africa (Grange: 1994). Whether the reasons were political or economic, they were all linked to the political instability that characterized 19th-century Italy at the time of the Risorgimento (Bossaert: 2019).

This symposium aims to build on historiographical studies of Italian migration to the Middle East and North Africa by exploring questions linked to the construction of a sense of national belonging within Italian communities, from the Unità to the end of the Second World War.

We will place ourselves at the crossroads of migration history and colonial history. This symposium proposes to discuss the construction of an Italian national identity within the Italian colonies established in the countries of the MENA region, but also to analyze the reception and definition of Italianness by local societies in a 19th-century colonial context. Any research approach that aims to complexify and nuance the relationships between the different populations, and to show the sometimes-contradictory ways in which they are intertwined, will be particularly welcome.

The contributions may focus on the following themes, without excluding other proposals:

The construction of an Italian identity in the Middle East and North Africa colonies

Associationism played an important role in the construction of a community in the Italian colonies established in the Middle East and North Africa. Whether these associations are religious, political, labor, or cultural in nature, they are a means for Italian immigrants to rally around strong, shared values, as is the case in Egypt (Rainero: 1991). More broadly, what are the tools put in place by local colonies to develop shared values and build their own identity? Is the sense of belonging to the Peninsula the same as the sense of national identity developed in Italy? What does it mean to be Italian for immigrants from the Peninsula living in the Middle East and North Africa?

Obstacles and limitations to the construction of an Italian identity

The first Egyptian revolution of 1919 marked the beginnings of a broader desire on the part of Arab countries under European domination to break away from this domination. But it was above all at the end of the 1940s that anti-imperial and nationalist movements developed in certain Middle Eastern and North African countries, such as Libya, which would lead to total independence from the European powers (Page, Sonnenburg: 2003). To what extent do traumatic events such as expulsions, racist or xenophobic acts and the experience of the World Wars impact on the Italian sense of national belonging in (ex-)Italian colonies?

Fascist ideology and Italian identity

From the 1920s onwards, Fascist propaganda gradually spread to the countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It was through culture that it attempted to establish itself (Mazza: 2021). Through radio broadcasts and the establishment of fascist cultural circles, the regime sought to strengthen ties with the Arab world, but also to instill a sense of national belonging in its colonies (MacDonald: 1977). How was Fascist propaganda received by the Italian colonies?

Local populations and their relationship to Italianness

From 1911 onwards, Libya's Jewish community adopted Italian as their main language and obtained Italian nationality (Levy: 2002). What does it mean to be Italian in the Middle East and North Africa for a Libyan, an Egyptian or a Palestinian? How is this Italian identity perceived by the natives? How are Italy and Italians represented in the local collective imagination?

Submission guidelines

Proposals, in the form of an abstract of approximately 400 words, should be written in French, Italian or English and must include a short bibliography and biography of the author. They should be submitted

by May 31st, 2024,

to the following two addresses: maeva.meyer1@univ-lyon3.fr; maddalena.zaglio@unige.ch.

A reply will be given by June 15th, 2024.

Advisory Committee

  • Ada BARBARO (Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”)
  • Wafaa EL BEIH (جامعة حلون – Helwan University)
  • Céline FRIGAU MANNING (Université Lyon 3)
  • Pierre GIRARD (Université Lyon 3)
  • Stéphanie LANFRANCHI (ENS Lyon)
  • Monica RUOCCO (Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”) 

Places

  • Lyon, France (69)

Event attendance modalities

Full on-site event


Date(s)

  • Friday, May 31, 2024

Keywords

  • migration, Italie, Moyen-Orient

Contact(s)

  • Maeva MEYER
    courriel : maeva [dot] meyer1 [at] univ-lyon3 [dot] fr
  • Maddalena ZAGLIO
    courriel : maddalena [dot] zaglio [at] unige [dot] ch

Information source

  • Maeva MEYER
    courriel : maeva [dot] meyer1 [at] univ-lyon3 [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« Italians in the Middle East and North Africa (1861-1950): between migration and the construction of an Italian identity », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, May 03, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/10ssi

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