Naming has always been one of the crucial practices of colonisation. In today’s Italy, the issue of naming as a way to affirm identity is largely employed by migrant and the second-generation migrant writers, who ask Italian society to recognize “exotic names” without the need to Italianise them. My aim is to demonstrate, through different examples, how practices of naming, self-naming and metalinguistic reflections appear in postcolonial italian literature for children. In this way, both characters in the books and readers exercise their agency towards adults and the Western gaze.

Organizer: RomLitt - Anthony John Lappin

*The seminar will be hybrid: members of the department may find the zoom link in the RomKlass calendar; those wishing to participate virtually from outside the department may write to anthony.lappin@su.se for access

Foto: Privat