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Forum for Modern Language Studies Advance Access published online on May 31, 2009
Forum for Modern Language Studies, doi:10.1093/fmls/cqp046
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© The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press for the Court of the University of St Andrews. All rights reserved. The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland: No. SC013532.

ITALIA MIA?: ITALIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE NOVELS OF SEBASTIANO VASSALLI

Meriel Tulante

School of Liberal Arts
Philadelphia University
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania 19144
USA

tulantem{at}philau.edu

  Abstract

This article presents the question of Italian national identity as it is explored through the works of Sebastiano Vassalli (b. 1941). Vassalli's focus on discovering the roots of the national character has been a defining feature of his oeuvre. In recent years and in an international context, social theorists, political scientists, historians and others have contributed to a now substantial literature on the concepts of nation, national identity and nationalism, concerns of particular relevance for the culture and society of today. Vassalli conducts a literary investigation of many of the topics addressed in contemporary academic discussions of the concept of nation. He presents an often controversial and provocative vision of the national character and argues that it is necessary for writers and critics to examine Italian national identity through history. As a result, he believes that only by identifying and confronting the mistakes, or "character flaws", of the collective nation will a truly mature society emerge.

Key Words: Vassalli, Sebastiano • national identity • Italian • nation • twentieth-century literature • historical novel


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