How many Italies?
Geographical reflections on the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification
Michael Shin – University of California, Los Angeles
Discussants:
Hans Schadee – Università Milano Bicocca
Moreno Mancosu – Università degli Studi di Trento
On the eve of the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification, the country faces several challenges and opportunities. Moreover, many of these challenges and opportunities are both framed and manifested geographically. From the persistence of la questione meridionale to a politics dopo Berlusconi, geography figures prominently in the past, present and future of Italy. Through a tour of Italy’s social, economic and political geographies, the realities and myths behind Italian “unification” are explored and framed as ongoing, if not necessary, tensions between local, regional, national and global interests and processes. Whether or not and how such forces are unique to Italy is open to debate, as is the notion of a truly unified Italy, or any other country for that matter. What is clear is that the ways in which Italy and Italians respond to and mediate contemporary social, economic and political forces will serve to reshape and re-unify the country in new and important ways that are quite distinct from the past.
Venerdì 17 dicembre 2010, ore 14.30
Facoltà di Sociologia
Trento, Via Verdi 26, sala riunioni al terzo piano
A PDF leaflet is available.
