Between Immigration and Historical Amnesia – Genova: 27-29 June 2019

Third Conference of the Symposium Diaspore Italiane – Italy in Movement

Genoa, 27-29 June 2019
Galata Museo del Mare – Calata de Mari 1 – 16136 Genova – Italy

The third conference of the international symposium Diaspore Italiane—Italy in Movement, will reflect on the role of migration today both in contemporary Italian society and in societies that host Italian communities.

Italians keep emigrating: this is a fact, proven by statistical data.

The 21st century has witnessed a surge in numbers of Italians leaving their country. In parallel, Italy, like other Western European countries, has become a regular migration destination, not only for people searching for work but also as a place to settle and create a “community of destiny.” For this reason we can speak of communities of “new Italians”.

At the same time a negative perception of migration has been growing in Italy, as in Western societies in general; in parallel, we have developed an amnesia, a memory loss regarding the fact that historically we are a country of emigrants.

Today the institutions that preserve memory—museums, archives, study centres, universities and associations—are called upon to reflect on how to transmit this memory and thus contribute to our self-awareness as a community that partakes of all aspects of migration: negative experiences such as uprootedness, culture shock, exploitation, and discrimination; but also positive ones such as meritocracy, resilience, and the Italian influence on contemporary culture and societies at a global level. Topics include:

  1. Migration in contemporary society: a curse or an opportunity?
  2. The reasons of amnesia: why have we forgotten what we were?
  3. Preserving and promoting the memory of emigration as an antidote to racism and xenophobia: what is the role of memory institutions?
  4. How to create a “migrant memory”? The role of institutions and the role of associations in the case of “new Italians.”
  5. What does it mean today to be Italian, in Italy and abroad?
  6. How can we counteract the amnesia that leads to the loss of heritage and identity?

Call for Papers is now closed.

Deadline for submission of single papers and panels was Jannuary 15, 2019.
 Acceptances will be notified on Febbruary 20, 2019

If you have received from the commitee the communication that your paper has been accepted, please follow the instructions below to confirm your participation.


Please confirm your attendance and effect the payment for the participation by March 29, 2019.

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Presentations

Individual papers: each presenter will have 15 minutes to present.
Panel sessions: duration 60 minutes followed by 15 minutes discussion.
Presentations may be in Italian or in English; support material (such as PowerPoint presentations) must be in English. All presentations are to last no longer than 15 minutes, including any accompanying audio and visual illustrations. (If you have a ppt presentation, it must fit in 7-10 slides).