Antonio D'Alfonso by Licia Canton

Author:Licia Canton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781771833622
Publisher: Guernica Editions
Published: 2018-03-05T16:00:00+00:00

Similarly, Appadurai ponders the conflation of culture and ethnicity as a way to delineate boundaries. Ironically, bringing these terms together does not clarify borders, but rather imbues both with the notion that it is not simply the “possession of certain attributes” but instead “the consciousness of these attributes and their naturalization [that is] . . . essential to group identity” (13–14).

Ethnic minorities, as D’Alfonso underlines, can exist above and beyond their position in a particular geopolitical state and these “ethnic realities” (185) would serve as bridges that would unite peoples of similar sensibilities across territories. In preferring to speak of the Italic experience — a notion that includes all peoples of Italian heritage be it inside or outside Italy — he recognizes “the strong tradition of culture in progress” (185) in the Italian civilization and opens up venues for communication between groups that would otherwise remain decidedly separate. Undoubtedly, adopting such a viewpoint is a choice made to facilitate continuity and “bridging” that undermines all notions of nationalism in the traditional sense. For D’Alfonso, in order for ethnic minority groups to prosper and grow, a “totally brave new way of comprehending the very notion of . . . culture” (177) is necessary.

Pluricultural federalism is offered as a possible solution because it offers a framework for coexistence that begins with what is always central to D’Alfonso — ethnic assertion and personal development. D’Alfonso affirms that a pluricultural identity fosters a country’s growth. This has positive repercussions for both the collectivity and for the individual citizen. As the centuries-old communities learn to deal with an increasingly complex and diverse society, they “gasp for air and scream their right to self-sufficiency” (96). Confronted with such resistance, salvaging old notions becomes more difficult than conceiving new ones. Unity (the old concept of nation-sate) is placed in opposition to multiplicity (a newer multicultural conception). Unity is understood to be the “search [for] definitions, whereas multiplicity is a complex mosaic of vitality, . . . virtuality” and virility (95). The possibility for expression and expansion in an array of directions lies in the more fertile ground of plurality.

In the essay “Atopia,” D’Alfonso suggests substituting “the obsolete triad — nation, individual, territory — by a different type of triad” (136). He suggests placing the collectivity in the centre between identity and the country; “[b]elonging would, thus, be viewed as the awareness of one’s identity, a rediscovered identity, a conscious identity” (136) along with a re-interpretation of “country.” Although perhaps utopian, this enunciation forces the reader to question actual ways of conceiving cultural organization. Is multiculturalism useful and pragmatic? Is the centre’s ethnicity still invisible? Is it providing true power to the minority groups in search of genuine cultural, political and mediatic expression? D’Alfonso posits the valorization of collective and plural expression as a way to redress perceived gaps in the social structure. His new triad is an attempt to include the idea of multiplicity among other cornerstone ideas.

The present anarchic cultural landscape has, nonetheless, shaped a rich authorship.

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