The Politics of Race in Italy

This course approaches the politics of race in Italy from an anthropological and historical perspective. It focuses on the historical formation of the range of attitudes, ideas and sentiments of race, including racism, found in Italy today. By taking an explicitly comparative approach to racial formation and racism, it requires students to critically reevaluate their understandings of race, identity, racial politics and racism. This includes rethinking not only what are conventionally viewed as "minority" racial identities but also white racial identity. The learning objectives of the course are: a) to understand the political and social history that has led to the formation of current attitudes, ideas and political stances on race in Italy; b) to understand the regional variation in these attitudes, ideas and political stances; and c) to extend this new understanding to the political and social history of race in the U.S.