Just thought I would share...

...the topic of the paper that has kept me busy. It is also part of my dissertation.

THE STRANGER AMONG US: THE CONSTRUCTION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE IMMIGRANT IN BERGAMO, ITALY
Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Bergamo, Italy, this paper will examine how the image of the “foreigner” in Italy is conditioned by both an array of historical and stereotyped images and by a continual redevelopment of these images in the media, politics, and popular discourse. Much attention has been given to the new immigration phenomenon that Italy has witnessed over the past twenty years. Scholars have observed with interest how a society that had relatively low levels of immigration reacted to this new phenomenon. Many of these scholars assumed that due to the previous lack of immigration, Italy would present a clean slate for inter-ethnic relations to occur as these immigrants began to arrive and settle. These views often failed to foresee how the pre-existing categories Italians had with respect to people from different places would contribute to how individuals would react to immigration. Drawing from examples from texts and film, I will illustrate the historical roots of some the stereotyped images that still dominate the discourse surrounding immigrants in the media, politics, and daily conversations. Further I will examine how these perceptions coupled with individuals’ ideology, sense of belonging, and position in the social hierarchy will determine how they construct and interpret the immigrant within their community. Last, I will demonstrate that this image of foreigners is rather uniform regardless of an individual’s opinion on immigration, which contrasts with the real diversity within the immigrant population.