Italian Science Fiction

Simone Brioni is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Stony Brook University, USA. His research focuses on migration studies and postcolonial theory with a particular emphasis on contemporary Italian culture.Daniele Comberiati is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Italian Studies at the University Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3, France. His research fields include migration literature, postcolonial studies, comics and graphic novels, and eighteenth-century travel literature.

“Brioni and Comberiati’s text is of great interest to both the scholar and the general reader who has more than a passing interest in Italian history and culture, postcolonial studies, and the effective use of science fiction to explore and uncover the important social and political issues to yield insights. … The book itself is well-grounded in postcolonial theory and by the end readers have seen, as promised … and are well-equipped to apply what was learned to other subjects.” (Sean Memolo, SFRA Review, Vol. 51 (3), 2021)“The strength of Brioni and Comberiati’s work is that it clarifies how the genre of science fiction is rooted in Italian culture, particularly in Italian cinema and literature. In addition, their analysis presents an in-depth reading of how Italian science fiction is deeply connected to identity politics, and therefore reflects the historical and political changes that Italy endured as a nation.” (Elisabetta Carraro, Quaderni d'italianistica, Vol. 40 (2), 2019)

• 1. The Other in Italian Science Fiction.- 2. The Age of Exploration and the Creation of a National Identity.- 3. Futurism and Fascist Science Fiction.- 4. After the Apocalypse: Hybridity and Civil Rights.- 5. The Internal Other: Representing Roma.- 6. Aliens in a Country of Immigration.- 7. Dystopic Worlds and the Fear of Multiculturalism.- 7. The Questione Settentrionale: Reconfiguring Separatism.- 9. Future Pasts: Revisiting the Colonial Legacy in Alternate History Novels.- 10. Afterword: A Genre Across Cultures.