California Italian Studies

The field of Black Italian studies encompasses a wide array of subfields, methodological approaches, and intellectuals. In this introduction, we advance a provisional definition, conceived not as a definitive or rigidly prescriptive formulation but rather as an opening intervention intended to stimulate further theoretical elaboration and critical engagement with this evolving field. Using an intentionally broad and porous definition that does not seek to impose labels, we understand Black Italia as an interdisciplinary field of study characterized by a set of intellectual, political, and artistic practices and approaches that broadly aim at (re)centering and excavating the Black presence in the Italian and Italian speaking contexts. This presence encompasses African, Afrodescendant and Afrodiasporic histories, experiences, and cultural and artistic productions that, despite their existence, have been historically overlooked and marginalized.