Question.3930 - i. Identify the main argument(s) ii. Identify two or three key ideas and/or questions that the work introduces or raises iii. Summarize how the work seeks to address these ideas (ie: evidence) iv. Provide some critical reflection on and engagement with the work. One example of such engagement would be a response paper that explored the implications of the argument that the African diaspora is the result of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Another example is a paper that points to problems in the argument and/or evidence provided. Another is a paper that puts the work into conversation with other scholarship and/or the debates that occurred among students on the discussion board.
Answer Below:
Week 13 Response Paper Asia Morgan Florida International University AFA5005/4930: African and African Diaspora Studies Theory Professor Dr. Andrea Queeley November 20th, 2024 Week 13 Response Paper Hawthorne's (2022) concept of the "Black Mediterranean" tends to offer a profound lens through which to examine the racialized politics of citizenship and belonging in Italy; such an analytical framework tends to emphasize how Italys racial and national boundaries have been shaped by its historical entanglements with Africa and the broader Mediterranean region, yet from historical standpoint the Mediterranean has operated as a crucible for racial capitalism, a point stressed by Cedric Robinson, who identifies the region as an experimental space for dispossession and exploitation later exported to the Atlantic. According to Hawthorne (2022), Italys colonial ventures in Eritrea, Libya, and Somalia and its role in the Mediterranean slave trade deeply influenced its national identity; these historical trajectories resonate with the contemporary struggles of Black Italians, who continue to navigate the racialized constraints of citizenship, Italys racial boundaries were solidified during its Risorgimento unification movement, with racial hierarchies marking southern Italians as culturally and geographically proximate to Africans. Hawthorne's (2022) insight about Northern European theorists, combined with internal Orientalist narratives, portrayed southern Italy as a racially degenerate space; Giuseppe Mazzinis infamous description of Italians as the "negroes of Europe" echoed the transnational racial discourse, which simultaneously shaped perceptions of Italians in the United States, where southern Italian immigrants were racialized similarly to African Americans. Around the 20th century, which saw Italy transition from an emigration nation to an immigration hub; by the 1970s, as restrictive immigration policies in northern Europe redirected flows, Italy became home to significant populations of labor migrants, many from Africa - the demography during this period experienced a shift that amplified anxieties around the nations racial identity, manifesting in far-right political rhetoric that framed African migrants as existential threats (Hawthorne, 2022). Heather Merrill notes that African bodies were portrayed in media and political discourse as symbols of illegitimacy, reinforcing narratives of moral and racial purity tied to Italian citizenship; the Black Mediterranean also highlights how Blackness in Italy is not monolithic. Refugees, asylum seekers, and multi-generational communities from both Italys former colonies and beyond contribute to a mosaic of diasporic identities within the context of diversity that necessitates moving beyond generalized conceptions of Blackness to understand how it is constructed and lived in specific historical and geographical contexts (Hawthorne, 2022). Hawthorne (2022) implies struggles over citizenship, as prominent in the contemporary resistance to "Fortress Europe" policies, reflect the dual role of the Mediterranean as both a space of racist exclusion and diasporic resistance, wherein the struggles are informed by shared histories of colonial violence and solidarity across the Mediterranean, exemplifying what Katherine McKittrick calls alternative spatial practices and more humanly workable geographies. The growing activism under the banners of "Black" or "Afro-Italianness" emphasizes the complexities of Black identity and citizenship in Italy, particularly Black Italians, facing scapegoating and a refusal of recognition, have responded by legitimizing their presence through entrepreneurship and cultural fluency, reframing Italianness beyond biological descent (Hawthorne, 2022). Yet, these efforts also expose tensions within activism itself, as the frameworks of citizenship create distinctions between assimilable Black citizens-in-waiting and nonassimilable migrants, wherein such a dynamic reflection depicts a broader struggle to challenge Italy's racialized boundaries and to imagine solidarities that transcend the nation-state (Hawthorne, 2022). As Black Italians redefine identity and inclusion, they question whether national citizenship remains a viable or sufficient objective for achieving racial justice, opening new possibilities for diasporic and transnational connections. The methodological approach to understanding these struggles underscores their dispersed, multifaceted nature, wherein Black Italian organizing spans societal spaces, cultural festivals, classrooms, and political protests, resisting spatially bounded analyses, social media platforms serve as critical arenas for visibility politics, allowing a geographically fragmented community to connect and amplify their voices (Hawthorne, 2022). From an African American diasporic view, "Black spaces" defy Italy's ethnic absolutism and reimagine belonging through lived experiences, which is grounded in extensive fieldwork and virtual ethnography; this analysis integrates personal narratives, cultural texts, and policy critiques to reveal how race and citizenship intersect in everyday life. Hawthorne's (2022) research demonstrates that while citizenship remains a deeply fraught terrain, it can also serve as a platform for envisioning more inclusive and radical solidarities. By situating Italy within the global dynamics of racial capitalism and migration, the Black Mediterranean framework illuminates the complex intersections of race, nation, and space, urging radical solidarities that transcend state-imposed categories like migrant or refugee, such solidarities challenge the enduring legacies of colonialism and racial exclusion, offering pathways toward more inclusive understandings of citizenship. References Hawthorne, C. (2022).?Contesting race and citizenship: youth politics in the Black Mediterranean (p. 324). Cornell University Press.More Articles From History
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