MACMILLAN Italian Science Fiction: The Other in Literature and Film (Studies in Global Science Fiction)

This book explores Italian science fiction from 1861, the year of Italy’s unification, to the present day, focusing on how this genre helped shape notions of Otherness and Normalness. In particular, Italian Science Fiction draws upon critical race studies, postcolonial theory, and feminist studies to explore how migration, colonialism, multiculturalism, and racism have been represented in genre film and literature. Topics include the role of science fiction in constructing a national identity; the representation and self-representation of “alien” immigrants in Italy; the creation of internal “Others,” such as southerners and Roma; the intersections of gender and race discrimination; and Italian science fiction’s transnational dialogue with foreign science fiction. This book reveals that though it is arguably a minor genre in Italy, science fiction offers an innovative interpretive angle for rethinking Italian history and imagining future change in Italian society. Review “Brioni and Comberiati’s text is of great interest to both the scholar and the general reader who has more than a passing interest in Italian history and culture, postcolonial studies, and the effective use of science fiction to explore and uncover the important social and political issues to yield insights. … The book itself is well-grounded in postcolonial theory and by the end readers have seen, as promised … and are well-equipped to apply what was learned to other subjects.” (Sean Memolo, SFRA Review, Vol. 51 (3), 2021) “The strength of Brioni and Comberiati’s work is that it clarifies how the genre of science fiction is rooted in Italian culture, particularly in Italian cinema and literature. In addition, their analysis presents an in-depth reading of how Italian science fiction is deeply connected to identity politics, and therefore reflects the historical and political changes that Italy endured as a nation.” (Elisabetta Carraro, Quaderni d'italianistica, Vol. 40 (2), 2019) Review “This imaginative and ambitious work brilliantly insists on the relevance of Italy's distinctive contribution to global science fiction. Brioni and Comberiati take us on an exciting journey, from nineteenth-century future histories to postmodern dystopias, and skillfully trace the multiple intersecting rays cast by transnational generic conventions and local and regional hopes, fears and dreams. A remarkably original perspective on Italian literature and film, this book offers rich materials and nuanced critical reflections that will expand the ways we think about SF and cultural difference.” (Florian Mussgnug, Reader in Italian and Comparative Literature, University College of London, UK)  “By tracing a history of Italian science fiction literature and film on the representation of the Other, this book is an ethical, critical study that focuses on histories and subjectivities that have been silenced and forgotten. A timely book that finally fills a gap, Italian Science Fiction is destined to become a standard reference for both established and new scholars interested in the history of science fiction and its development in Italian literature and cinema.” (Raffaella Baccolini, Professor of English and Gender Studies, University of Bologna, Forlì Campus, Italy)  “With Italian Science Fiction: The Other in Literature and Film, Brioni and Comberiati meaningfully engage the pertinent political and cultural issues of today regarding the presence of racism, national belonging, and colonialism in Italy while placing a spotlight on gothic themes used to generate fear of the other. Their chronological approach takes readers on an absorbing journey from the nineteenth century Italian colonization effort in Africa to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and beyond.” (Isiah Lavender III, Sterling-Goodman Professor of English, University of Georgia, USA)   From the Back Cover This book explores Italian science fiction from 1861, th