Italian and Mediterranean Colloquium
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What is a ‘Minor’ Literature? Somali Italian Literature and Beyond
Presenter: Simone Brioni (Stony Brook University)
Respondent: Madeleine Dobie (Columbia University)
Moderator: Pier Mattia Tommasino (Columbia University)
Brioni examines to what extent Deleuze and Guattari’s definition of the three main features of ‘minor literature’ – namely ‘the deterritorialization of language, the connection of the individual to a political immediacy, and the collective assemblage of enunciation’ – are relevant in analyzing literature by authors of Somali origins in Italian. He argues that ‘minor literature’ should not be seen as a rigid framework to be applied in interpreting a specific case study, although its theoretical flexibility might be useful when investigating a literature that strongly refuses categorization. In particular, Deleuze and Guattari’s reference to ‘minor’ literature as a literature ‘in becoming’ helps to identify the position of Somali Italian literature in a transnational context, proposing some changes in how ‘Italian’ literature has been conceptualized so far.
Presented by the Department of Italian & co-sponsored by The European Institute.
