Dissertation Defence: The Memory Remains: Topographies of Remembrance and Belonging Among the Italian Minority in Yugoslav Fiume/Rijeka (1945-1991)
November 20 at 8:30 am - 1:30 pm
Angelo Massaro, supervised by Dr. Jim Rochlin, will defend their dissertation titled “The Memory Remains: Topographies of Remembrance and Belonging Among the Italian Minority in Yugoslav Fiume/Rijeka (1945-1991)” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies – Global Studies theme.
An abstract for Angelo Massaro’s dissertation is included below.
Examinations are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. Please email james.rochlin@ubc.ca to receive the Zoom link for this exam.
Abstract
This dissertation investigates how the contemporary Italian-speaking community of Rijeka/Fiume interprets and transmits its collective past in the wake of the profound political and demographic transformations following the Second World War. The transition from Italian fascism to Yugoslav socialism dismantled the Italians’ prior economic and cultural prominence. While many Italian speakers—the esuli—departed amid fears of marginalization, those who remained—the rimasti—underwent a disorienting process of minoritization within the new socialist framework. Drawing on oral history interviews with members of the “Comunità degli Italiani di Fiume” (Italian community in Rijeka) alongside archival and press sources, the study examines how this borderland minority reconfigured its identity across shifting ideological regimes. It argues that the mnemonic practices of the Fiumani diverge from both Italian and (post-)Yugoslav historiographies, which often overlook locally rooted narratives of attachment. In a city marked by layered multicultural and plurilingual traditions, these practices give rise to a complex, non-linear sense of belonging.
