A Political History of National Citizenship and Identity in Italy, 1861-1950 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013), by Sabina Donati (Book Panel)

The fascinating origins and complex evolution of Italian national citizenship come alive in the pages of Donati’s book.  Covering the period from the unification of Italy in 1861 through the early years following the Second World War, the monograph explores the civic history of female and male Italians in the peninsula, Italy’s immigrants and emigrants, and the country’s colonial and overseas native populations.  This panel, bringing together scholars from a variety of countries and disciplines, will discuss the third and fourth chapters of Donati’s book as they pertain specifically to migration issues.  Emphasis will therefore be put on the citizenship policies and discourses that were formulated during the liberal period in reference to two specific categories of foreigners living in Italy (so-called Italiani non regnicoli and non-Italian immigrants) as well as vis-à-vis Italy’s emigrant communities living abroad.  The panel will provide a forum for debating this recently published Stanford book, and for analyzing citizenship, migration, and national identity issues in historical, interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives.