04177 - Sociology of Literature

Course contents

«He wore the belt of death and he repeated the gestures of the attack». Terrorism in migrant literature.

Terrorism is often used by Western public opinion to slander current migratory movements and to fuel widespread anxiety about the constant flow of refugees towards Europe, indeed generated by economic and warlike policies which aim at perpetuating modern colonialism.

Various forms of terrorism appear in Italian migrant literature, often in connection to the authors' homeland: Palestine, for example, described by Muin Masri, Hassan Itab (with his surprising autobiography of a terrorist) or Randa Ghazy, whose famous short story for teenagers was also published in French among the loud protests of Parisian Jewish community.

After 9/11, Randa Ghazy became the interpreter of public discourse on islamophobia, together with other Muslim female voices; in the same years, Abdel M. Smari described the religious radicalization of migrants due to an unsuccessful process of integration and narrated the experiences of foreign fighters during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

However, these authors and their works are only exceptions in a literary panorama where editors mainly choose to (dis)place terrorism in removed geographical and temporal contexts, such as the Algerian civil war (Amara Lakhous, Amor Dekhis) or South America (Egidio Molinas Leiva, Milton Fernández). Moreover, recent publications tend to favour a Western viewpoint on terrorism, thanks to the works of Iranian exiles (Younis Tawfik, Bijan Zarmandili) and Syrian refugees (Shady Hamadi), who unsurprisingly oppose the dictatorships of their respective countries. Migrant writers are also rather reluctant to express their views on the Somalian civil war (Cristina Ali Farah) and on the armed groups operating between Africa and the Middle East (e.g. Al Shabaab).

In short, despite being an extraordinary viewpoint on present times and events, Italian migrant literature is still unable to express well-defined standpoints on terrorism. On the other hand, migrant writers are somehow forced by recent, tragic circumstances – like the terrorist attacks in Belgium and France – to publicly pledge their loyalty to fundamental values which, however, Western rhetoric has made more and more empty and trivial.

Even second-generation migrants find it extremely difficult to elaborate new, truly multicultural figures and identities which could constitute an alternative to Karim Franceschi’s armed response against ISIS.

Readings/Bibliography

All students are required to read one book from the following list:

I) D. GIGLIOLI, All’ordine del giorno è il terrore, Milano, Bompiani, 2007.

D. DI CESARE, Terrore e modernità, Torino, Einaudi, 2017.

Furthermore, they are required to read three books choosing from the following sections:

II) A. APPADURAI, Sicuri da morire. La violenza nell’epoca della globalizzazione, Roma, Meltemi, 2005.

A. MBEMBE, Necropolitica, Verona, ombre corte, 2016.

F. BATTISTELLI, La sicurezza e la sua ombra. Terrorismo, panico, costruzione della minaccia, Roma, Donzelli, 2016.

III) L. DECLICH, Islam in 20 parole, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2016.

M. ONFRAY, Pensare l’Islam, Milano, Corriere della Sera, 2016.

G. BATTISTON, Arcipelago jihad. Lo Stato islamico e il ritorno di al-Qaeda, Roma, edizioni dell’asino, 2016.

M. CALCULLI-F. STRAZZARI, Terrore sovrano. Stato e Jihad nell’era postliberale, Bologna, il Mulino, 2017.

M.-J. MONDZAIN, L’immagine che uccide. La violenza come spettacolo dalle Torri gemelle all’ISIS, Bologna, EDB, 2017.

IV) F. KHOSROKHAVAR, I nuovi martiri di Allah, Milano, B. Mondadori, 2003.

G. KEPEL, Oltre il terrore e il martirio, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2009.

T. ASAD, Il terrorismo suicida. Una chiave per comprenderne le ragioni, Milano, R. Cortina, 2009.

R. GUOLO, L’ultima utopia. Gli jihadisti europei, Milano, Guerini e Associati, 2015.

M. HATINA, Il martirio nell’Islam moderno. Devozione, politica e potere, Milano, O barra O, 2016.

O. ROY, Generazione ISIS, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2017.

V) Giovani musulmane in Italia. Percorsi biografici e priorità quotidiane, a cura di I. ACOCELLA e R. PEPICELLI, Bologna, il Mulino, 2015.

E. PAGANO, Napolislam, Milano, Centauria, 2016.

ZEROCALCARE, Kobane calling, Milano, Bao, 2016.

L. CAPRETTI, La jihad delle donne, Roma, Salerno ed., 2017.

VI) Lastly, all students have to read the following essay:

 F. PEZZAROSSA, «Ci siamo quasi. Allacciati la cintura». Il terrorismo negli scrittori della migrazione italiana (see Materiali on line).

and then choose two further books among those listed below (students unable to attend lectures are required to read an additional book):

Muin M. Masri, Io sono di là, Torino, traccEDIverse, 2005.

Muin M. Masri, pronto … ci sei ancora?, Torino, Lochness, 2006.

Hassan Itab, La tana della iena, Dogliani (CN), Sensibili alle foglie, 2003.

Randa Ghazy, Sognando Palestina, Milano, Fabbri, 2002.

Randa Ghazy, Oggi forse non ammazzo nessuno. Storie minime di una giovane musulmana stranamente non terrorista, Milano, Fabbri, 2007.

Sumaya Abdel Qader, Porto il velo, adoro i Queen. Nuove italiane crescono, Milano, Sonzogno, 2008.

Khalid Chaouki, Salaam, Italia! La voce di un giovane musulmano italiano, Reggio Emilia, Aliberti, 2005.

CHAIMAA FATIHI, Non ci avrete mai. Lettera aperta di una musulmana italiana ai terroristi, Milano, Rizzoli, 2016.

Rula Jebreal, Miral, Milano, Rizzoli, 2010.

Salwa Salem, Con il vento nei capelli. Vita di una palestinese, a cura di L. Maritano, Firenze, Giunti, 1993.

Abdel Malek Smari, Fiamme in paradiso, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 2000.

Amara Lakhous, Scontro di civiltà per un ascensore a Piazza Vittorio, Roma, e/o, 2006.

Amara Lakhous, Divorzio all’islamica a Viale Marconi, Roma, e/o, 2010.

Amor Dekhis, I lupi della notte, Napoli, l’ancora del mediterraneo, 2008.

Amor Dekhis, Dopotutto ognuno è solo, Siena, Barbera, 2013.

Egidio Molinas Leiva, La notte del Yacaré, S. Marino, AIEP, 1998.

Milton Fernández, Per arrivare a sera, Milano, Rayuela, 2012.

Younis Tawfik, La città di Iram, Milano, Bompiani, 2002.

Younis Tawfik, La sposa ripudiata, Milano, Bompiani, 2011.

Bijan Zarmandili, La grande casa di Monirrieh, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2004.

Bijan Zarmandili, L’estate è crudele, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2007.

Bijan Zarmandili, Il cuore del nemico, Roma, Cooper, 2009.

Bijan Zarmandili, Viene a trovarmi Simone Signoret, Roma, nottetempo, 2013.

Parviz R. Parvizyan, La luce dell’ultimo giorno, Bologna, Gallo&Calzati, 2003.

Hamid Ziarati, Salam, Maman, Torino, Einaudi, 2006.

Hamid Ziarati, Il meccanico delle rose, Torino, Einaudi, 2009.

Hamid Ziarati, Quasi due, Torino, Einaudi, 2012.

SHADY HAMADI, La felicità araba. Storia della mia famiglia e della rivoluzione siriana, Torino, add, 2013.

SHADY HAMADI, Esilio dalla Siria. Una lotta contro l’indifferenza, Torino, add, 2016.

Anthony J. Latiffi, Lo yàtaghan, Nardò (LE), Ed. Controluce, 2008.

UBAX CRISTINA ALI FARAH, Il comandante del fiume, Roma, 66thand2nd, 2014.

NICOLAI LILIN, L’educazione siberiana, Torino, Einaudi, 2009.

NICOLAI LILIN, Caduta libera, Torino, Einaudi, 2010.

Karim Franceschi, Il combattente. Storia dell’italiano che ha difeso Kobane dall’Isis, Milano, Rizzoli, 2016.

Teaching methods

FRONTAL LESSONS

Classes start in the I semester.

 First lesson: 29th September.

 

Tuesday      17-19 aula Tibiletti - via Zamboni 38

Wednesday 17-19 aula II - via Zamboni 38

Friday          15-17 aula II via Zamboni 38

 

Assessment methods

ORAL EXAMINATION

The evaluation of the students' competencies and abilities acquired during the course consists in an oral interview which has the aim of evaluating the critical and methodological ability of the students. The students will be invited to discuss the tests on the course programme. The student must demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography in the course programme.

Those students who are able to demonstrate a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered during the lessons, who are able to use these critically and who master the field-specific language of the discipline will be given a mark of excellence.

Those students who demonstrate a mnemonic knowledge of the subject with a more superficial ability and ability to synthesize and analyze, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be given a ‘fair' mark.

A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above a pass mark.

Students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the subject matter, inappropriate language use, lack of familiarity with the literature in the programme bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

Teaching tools

Video projector, overhead projector, videos, web resources.

Meetings with international experts and authors that write on migration issues.

Office hours

See the website of Fulvio Pezzarossa