#international

 

I will work on mass-mediated memories of colonialism from a transdisciplinary perspective. My research has so far focused on film archives and moving images related to fascism and Italian colonialism; here I aim to expand this approach towards a broader transmedial framework. A key point of reference will be my collaboration with ethnomusicologist Gianpaolo Chiriacò, whose work provides an important basis for developing shared projects on the sonic and visual dimensions of colonial memory. At the same time, I very much look forward to engaging with colleagues across the university, in order to deepen our understanding of how colonial legacies persist and how they can be critically reinterpreted.

 

My interest in this field developed through a combination of personal encounters and academic experiences. As a student, I was always interested in the history of fascism and in the power of propaganda. During my MA, while attending a course on Italian colonial history, I realised on the one hand how little I actually knew about that past, and on the other how deeply it had permeated Italian society, even in its most remote corners. By coincidence, in those very months I came across my grandfather’s school notebooks: he lived in a small and remote Sardinian village, yet his writings clearly reflected the language and imagery of colonial propaganda. After completing my thesis on fascist propaganda, in 2011 I undertook an internship at the Italian Embassy in Ethiopia. That decisive experience exposed me to the complex web of colonial legacies that continue to shape relations between Italy and Ethiopia. Since then, my work has been driven by the need to critically examine how those histories persist and continue to shape the fabric of our societies.

 

What fascinates me about research is not only the possibility of understanding the past, but also of questioning the power structures embedded in the narratives we inherit. I see academic work as a critical practice that can challenge dominant perspectives, especially when dealing with histories and unresolved legacies of dictatorship, colonialism, racism, and inequality. Therefore, for me, research is a form of engagement – a way to contribute to public debates and to foster more critical and historically informed ways of looking at the present. In a time of profound global transformations and technological upheavals, the humanities and social sciences play a crucial role in exposing how certain representations and assumptions persist, often in subtle ways. I also value the opportunity that academic work offers to engage with colleagues and academic cultures across the world: this constant exchange is something I genuinely enjoy and that continually enriches my perspective.

 

Interdisciplinary collaboration has been central to my academic path, particularly through experiences in both the UK and Italy. Working across different academic cultures and disciplines (History, Media Studies, Languages and Cultures, Cultural Studies) has shown me how much perspectives can shift depending on institutional and intellectual contexts. These exchanges have consistently enriched my work, pushing me to refine my questions and approaches. Collaboration is essential not only for producing sharper research, but also for making it more relevant beyond academia. It creates the conditions for dialogue, experimentation, co-production, and intellectual growth, allowing our work to engage more effectively with broader societal and global challenges.