The Interactional Construction of Racial Identities and Racist Attitudes in Italy

Oberlin College, Oberlin OH

Investigators

Abstract

This research project will analyze the formation of modern Italian attitudes toward immigrants from outside the European Community. A generation ago, Italy had more outmigration than in migration. That is no longer the case and with the increasing presence of new minorities, there is evidence that racism is also on the rise in Italy. The research will focus on how race and racism emerge in everyday interactions. The researcher, who is fluent in Italian, will use linguistic techniques of Conversation Analysis to uncover how, through storytelling and narratives, people may reach an agreement around racist beliefs and stereotypes of themselves and others. In addition, she will pay attention to those cases in which agreement is not reached, and individuals are able to oppose racist narratives effectively. This research will be carried out in Tuscany where data collection will include ethnographic fieldnotes, participant observation, interviews, and videorecording of everyday conversations in intimate settings. The research will be cross-disciplinary, bringing together perspectives from linguistics, anthropology, and cultural studies. It will integrate present work on language and racism, furthering our understanding of how individuals use language in their everyday encounters to form their identities, and highlighting the importance of narratives in making sense of our world. In addition, while many current studies on language and racism focus on the experience of the discriminated minorities, this research will integrate such studies by focusing on the majority and how they come to see themselves as the majority. The ultimate goal of this project is to devise more effective means to oppose discrimination and to foster the integration of immigrants into their countries of arrival. As part of a collaboration with the Social Observatory of the Provinces of Pistoia and Prato, the results will be used to create programs against discrimination and racism in Tuscany. In terms of contributions to education, the results will be integrated in the courses taught by the researcher.