Italy Made in Britain: Contemporary British Perspectives on Italian Culture

Abstract

This special issue of Modern Languages Open is about how contemporary Britain perceives and imagines Italy, and how it mirrors itself in Italy’s image. It aims at interrogating the current clichés about Italy, showing how imagery about the country is multi-faceted and prismatic, highlighting areas of dialogue as well as tendencies towards stereotyping. It problematizes the images of Italy as it is seen in various layers of British society – from the media, to film, to politics – showing how the construction of the southern European country still corresponds to a horizon of expectations more than to reality. Initially inspired by the one-day conference Italy Made in England, held at the University of Warwick on 22nd February 2014 and funded by the Warwick Humanities Research Centre, this special issue emerges from an ongoing dialogue among a group of scholars whose work focuses on the interaction between Italian and British culture.