Gabriele Proglio

Laura Odasso

This book analyses the European border at Lampedusa as a metaphor for visible and invisible powers that impinge on relations between Europe and Africa/Asia. Taking an interdisciplinary approach (political, social, cultural, economic and artistic), it explores the island as a place where social relations based around race, gender, sex, age and class are being reproduced and/or subverted. The authors argue that Lampedusa should be understood as a synecdoche for European borders and boundaries. Widening the classical definition of the term ‘border’, the authors examine the different meanings assigned to the term by migrants, the local population, seafarers and associative actors based on their subjective and embodied experiences. They reveal how migration policies, international relations with African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries, and the perpetuation of new forms of colonization and imperialism entail heavy consequences for the European Union. This work will appeal to a wide readership, from scholars of migration, anthropology and sociology, to students of political science, Italian, African and cultural studies.

Subjectivity, Visibility and Memory in Stories of Sea and Land

Border Lampedusa

Livio Amigoni

Silvia Aru

Ivan Bonnin

Cecilia Vergnano

This contributed volume analyzes in depth how a border area is constantly reshaped as migration policies harden, and what kind of social, political and economic impacts are produced at local and international level. The study is focused on Ventimiglia, an Italian town located 6 km away from the French-Italian border on the gulf of Genoa with a long story of commerce, custom and smuggling activities related to its proximity to the frontier. While several projects have analyzed other symbolic places of the EU migration crisis such as Lampedusa, Calais and Lesvos, there is a severe empirical gap regarding Ventimiglia, a border town at the very geographic core of the Schengen area. This case study may provide emblematic insights into what European migratory movements are currently revealing in terms of the lack of shared responsibility between EU Member States, the EU common asylum system and respect for human rights, with increasing claims for national sovereignty by some Member States.

Migration and Control Across the Ventimiglia Region

Debordering Europe

Camilla Hawthorne

Ida Danewid

P. Khalil Saucier

Giuseppe Grimaldi

Angelica Pesarini

Timothy Raeymaekers

Giulia Grechi

Vivian Gerrand

This edited volume aims to problematise and rethink the contemporary European migrant crisis in the Central Mediterranean through the lens of the Black Mediterranean. Bringing together scholars working in geography, political theory, sociology, and cultural studies, this volume takes the Black Mediterranean as a starting point for asking and answering a set of crucial questions about the racialized production of borders, bodies, and citizenship in contemporary Europe: what is the role of borders in controlling migrant flows from North Africa and the Middle East?; what is the place for black bodies in the Central Mediterranean context?; what is the relevance of the citizenship in reconsidering black subjectivities in Europe? The volume will be divided into three parts. After the introduction, which will provide an overview of the theoretical framework and the individual contributions, Part I focuses on the problem of borders, Part II features essays focused on the body, and Part III is dedicated to citizenship.

Bodies, Borders and Citizenship

The Black Mediterranean

Luisa Passerini

Milica Trakilovic

Migration is most concretely defined by the movement of human bodies, but it leaves indelible traces on everything from individual psychology to major social movements. Drawing on extensive field research, and with a special focus on Italy and the Netherlands, this interdisciplinary volume explores the interrelationship of migration and memory at scales both large and small, ranging across topics that include oral and visual forms of memory, archives, and artistic innovations. By engaging with the complex tensions between roots and routes, minds and bodies, The Mobility of Memory offers an incisive and empirically grounded perspective on a social phenomenon that continues to reshape both Europe and the world.

Migrations and Diasporas across European Borders

The Mobility of Memory

This book delves into the history of the Horn of Africa diaspora in Italy and Europe through the stories of those who fled to Italy from East African states. It draws on oral history research carried out by the BABE project (Bodies Across Borders: Oral and Visual Memories in Europe and Beyond) in a host of cities across Italy that explored topics including migration journeys, the memory of colonialism in the Horn of Africa, cultural identity in Italy and Europe, and Mediterranean crossings. This book shows how the cultural memory of interviewees is deeply linked to an intersubjective context that is changing Italian and European identities. The collected narratives reveal the existence of another Italy – and another Europe – through stories that cross national and European borders and unfold in transnational and global networks. They tell of the multiple identities of the diaspora and reconsider the geography of the continent, in terms of experiences, emotions, and close relationships, and help reinterpret the history and legacy of Italian colonialism.

An Oral History

The Horn of Africa Diasporas in Italy

Gabriele Proglio

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