{"id":209320,"date":"2019-01-04T15:06:06","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T20:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=209320"},"modified":"2019-01-04T15:06:06","modified_gmt":"2019-01-04T20:06:06","slug":"understanding-the-immigration-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2019\/01\/04\/understanding-the-immigration-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding the Immigration Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Immigration has become an increasingly hot button issue that makes daily headlines both in the United States and abroad. Teresa Fiore is an associate professor of Italian and Inserra Endowed Chair<\/a> in Italian and Italian American Studies at Montclair State, which boasts an Italian program ranked among the nation\u2019s 10 largest by the Modern Language Association. She is also the author of Pre-Occupied Spaces: Remapping Italy\u2019s Transnational Migrations and Colonial Legacies<\/em><\/a> \u2013 <\/em>a timely exploration of the Italian migration experience that has garnered international attention and acclaim.<\/p>\n

Pre-Occupied Spaces<\/em> explores Italy\u2019s formation and development on a transnational map through a cultural analysis of travel, living and workspaces as depicted in literature, films and music. By demonstrating how immigration in Italy today is \u201cpre-occupied\u201d by its past emigration and colonialism, Fiore redefines national belonging in an era of massive global demographic mobility<\/p>\n

The insights and learnings in this book are relevant to today\u2019s national and global immigration concerns. \u201cI talk about what the newspapers are talking about in terms of migration these days but provide a historical and cultural context that offers new perspectives beyond the typical sense of fear, emergency and crisis,\u201d Fiore explains.<\/p>\n

As Fiore sees it, today, Italy and the United States are facing similar immigration issues \u2013 from border closings to viewing immigrants as a burden. \u201cSuch belittling and exclusion only compounds problems by creating divisions and a deeper sense of frustration,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

During the course of writing Pre-Occupied<\/em> Spaces, she expanded its focus to include a response to the larger contemporary immigration situation. \u201cWhat I didn\u2019t know when I started writing is that the issue of immigration would become so central. Today, more than ever, we need to take an attentive, informed and sensitive look at immigration in all its complexities \u2013 from displacement to forging transnational identities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since its publication in 2017 by Fordham University Press, Pre-Occupied Spaces<\/em> has resonated with critics and readers alike. It was awarded the 2017 American Association of Italian Studies Book Prize in the 21st-century category and was one of five finalists for the prestigious international 2018 Bridge Book Award. In December, it received an Honorable Mention for the Modern Language Association Howard R. Marraro Prize in Italian Literature.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Fiore will be following her well-received book presentations at institutions such as Columbia University and Duke University with appearances at the Universit\u00e1 di Palermo in Italy and Ohio\u2019s Miami University. She will also visit Ohio State University as a Scholar-in-Residence.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Pre-Occupied Spaces<\/em> and Teresa Fiore:<\/p>\n