This article explores how racialised Italians redefine national belonging in the UK, suggesting new spatial narratives.
Key Points
The research aims to challenge the traditional connection between race and nationalism by examining everyday narratives of racialised Italians in the UK.
Conducted 32 individual interviews with racialised Italians living in the UK.
Analyzed narratives related to nation and national belonging in social settings.
Explored the impact of space as a socially constructed category on notions of identity.
Participants felt empowered to reclaim their national identity away from Italy's white-centric narrative.
Alternative readings of nation focused on practices and spaces rather than racial identity.
The findings reveal that the race-nation connection is a historical construct, not a fixed reality.