Migration and Postcolonial Studies

Critical Reception

The Somali Within (2015)

• “A very welcome and significant contribution to the growing field of Italian postcolonial studies... offering a convincing in-depth textual analysis of a specifically postcolonial literature (though many of his insights could usefully also be stretched out to apply to the wider ‘migration’ field), as well as contributing an important linguistic study, which draws Translation Studies into productive proximity with a potential transcultural turn in Italian Studies in general.” — Emma Bond, Modern Language Review 116.2, April 2017, 524-25

• “A new and original analysis... From how the Somali writers describe race and colour it is, in fact, possible to start a reflection that, from the colonial adventures and through the racial laws of 1938 and the apparent neglect of the colonies after World War II, reaches contemporary Italy and the current problems with racism.” — Daniele Comberiati, Crossings: Journal of Migration & Culture 2016, 247-49

• “The postcolonial and transnational perspective of this work... calls for fresh and stimulating elaborations, making it a compelling reading also for readers who are not well acquainted with the body of literature here analysed.” — Lorenzo Mari, Interventions 19.1 (2016): 148-151.

• “Rich in its theoretical approaches, Brioni’s study will be of immense interest to scholars of contemporary Italian culture, Italian postcolonialism and, indeed, to anyone interested in the ongoing debates surrounding ‘minor literature.’”— Renata Redford, Italica 93.4 (2016): 849-51

• “The Somali Within is an innovative volume that discusses the Somali-Italian encounter, from the colonial period to the subsequent historical events intertwining the histories of Somalia and Italy well into their postcolonial present... Brioni’s volume is indeed a much needed and complex contribution to the study of Italian Somali literature which engages masterfully with these texts while redefining multiple theoretical problems.” — Elena Benelli, Italian Studies 73.4 (2018): 467-468.

• “The Somali Within signals perhaps a new direction in the field of Italian migration literature in Italy... A valuable resource to scholars of Italian, minor, post-colonial, and migration literatures as well as those interested in how Italy’s colonial past can help explain contemporary views in Italy of language, race, and identity.” — Francesca Minonne, Quaderni d’Italianistica 38.2 (2018): 277-79.

The Horn of Africa and Italy (2018)

• This collection can be particularly useful for Italian Studies scholars who might not be as familiar with the African perspective on and response to Italian colonialism as they are with the Italian. Furthermore, its call for the colonial legacy to be placed in a transnational framework gestures toward a promising new direction for studies on Italian colonialism and postcolonialism. Jessica L. Harris, Quaderni d'Italianistica, 39.1 (2019): 252-254.

• The merit of this book is the attempt [...] to retrace colonial and postcolonial cultural relations between the Horn of Africa and Italy, paying attention to the racial dimension which shaped them and to the interplay of other elements, with all their ambivalence, complexities and nuances. Nicola Camilleri, Modern Italy, 25.4 (2020): 496-498.

L'Italia, l'altrove (2022)

• The book makes an original contribution to the transnational turn recently adopted by Italian Studies. Offering a thoughtful and eclectic range of literary, filmic, and visual sources, it takes into account different depictions of space and apprehends Italy in a polycentric, discontinuous, and global perspective. In doing so, the author aims to show how discourses and images are capable of transforming and subverting hegemonic narratives about migration in Italy and beyond; and manifest alternative visions of inclusion into society, citizenship, and language." Jacopo Francesco Mascoli, Annali d'Italianistica (2023)

Creatività diasporiche (2023)

• "Read as a whole, the volume offers a broad-focused take on transnational contemporary Italy, reflecting the dynamic and plural histories traversing Italian language and territory, and the synergy between academic and artistic discourses. Its conversational tone and linguistic accessibility do not diminish the contribution of the academic discourse sustaining the volume, but rather signal its political and cultural significance." Federica di Blasio, Annali d'Italianistica (2024)