Marco Medugno

About

I have a background in Italian Studies and Modern Philology (BA and MA), Intercultural Studies (MA), and Anglophone Literatures, Diaspora, Comparative and Postcolonial studies (PhD). My research navigates these interdisciplinary areas, with a new additional focus on the Blue Humanities and Ecocriticism from a postcolonial perspective. An integral part of my work involves Literary Geography, particularly the study of urbanscapes. I explore the colonial planning and its enduring legacy in former Italian colonies and how urban spaces/places are represented in novels. Additionally, my research engages with Diaspora studies, examining diasporic experiences through a literary lens and investigating the connections and networks that emerge between authors and texts across languages, geographies and cultures. My book, Literature of the Somali Diaspora (Bloomsbury, 2024), offers a comparative analysis of Somali diasporic novels written in English and Italian by authors such as Nuruddin Farah, Igiaba Scego, Garane Garane and Cristina Ali Farah. It examines the lasting impacts of colonialism and the Somali Civil War, which caused widespread displacement. The book highlights the ways Somali authors use the novel form to explore nationhood, identity and transnational belonging, fostering a multilingual and transnational literary community.

Publications