Edges of Empire. Italy’s Postcolonial Entanglements and the Gender Legacy

Abstract

This essay explores the rather neglected case of Italian colonialism, and in particular, the ways in which colonial traces still linger on in Italian contemporary representations, reconfirming or transforming stereotypes and prejudices regarding issues of otherness, ethnicity, and sexuality, which are specific to the Italian case. Although Italian colonialism is subject to denial and oblivion, it is important to account for a growing postcolonial awareness, both in the scholarly field and in the wider cultural context, to better understand current issues of migration that are affecting Europe and challenging its global role as a democratic institution. The focus of the essay is on colonial photography and contemporary visual culture, pertaining to the fields of media, art, and politics. The goal is to detect the specificities of the Italian colonial legacy in contemporary culture, analyzing contemporary art production as well as figures such as football star Mario Balotelli and Italy’s first Black minister Cécile Kyenge, while also accounting for the larger European dimension, connecting and drawing parallels with transnational debates on postcolonial representations of gender and race.