Reading for Distance

Form, Memory, and Space in Contemporary Novels of Migration

Migration is one of the most defining issues of the 21st century. Indeed, mobility scholar Thomas Nail has defined the twenty-first century “the century of the migrant.” Contemporary fiction is also greatly invested in the exploration of the phenomenon, and when we read fictions of migration, we expect certain patterns and themes: from hybridization and ambivalence, first-person and past-tense narratives, and a certain degree of autofiction, to the inclusion of magical…

Earthly ​​Indi​geneity

The Cognitive and Ethical Implications of a Disregarded Cosmic Occurence

I would like to begin this essay by analyzing the simple and somewhat whimsical question I offer as a title for this prologue. To this end, let me introduce myself: I was born in Sicily, thereby in Italy, to native Italian parents; I do not belong to a decolonized territory, nor am I a member of any minority group or ethnicity. I am a legal scholar, and a full professor at Parma University. I cannot express any serious complaints about my ability to ‘live’ my culture and — flaw of flaws — […]