Ricerc@Sapienza

20th-century criticism and theory have acquainted us with the ability of fictional narratives to build or strengthen the identity of nations and classes, often at the expense of other communities. Investigations of the ideological significance of fiction as a tool for social cohesion have insistently stressed its tendency to exclude, debase or misrepresent other groups. A question that has been posed less often is, however, how narrative works manage to build inclusive communities. In recent years, moreover, given the ethical and political issues raised by transnational migrations and globalization, the power of fiction as a tool to question or broaden community boundaries has become more and more significant. And it is likely that it will become all the more so in light of recent social and political developments, such as the resurgence of nationalism in the shape of ¿sovereignism¿ and protectionist policies, and the crisis of Europe, both as an idea and as a system of institutions
The aim of this project is to explore narrative as a tool for the creation of inclusive communities in European and American culture, with a focus on a broad range of media (literature, both fictional and non-fictional, including translated literature, films, TV series, graphic novels, videogames), from classical antiquity to the present day