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  • © 2006

The Empire of Stereotypes

Germaine de Staël and the Idea of Italy

Palgrave Macmillan

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Part of the book series: Italian and Italian American Studies (IIAS)

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Table of contents (5 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
  2. Decline and Discovery

    • Robert Casillo
    Pages 1-44
  3. The Debate over Italy

    • Robert Casillo
    Pages 45-82
  4. The Empire of Stereotypes

    • Robert Casillo
    Pages 83-143
  5. Italy as Other: The Carnival and the Swamp

    • Robert Casillo
    Pages 145-180
  6. Children of Vulcan

    • Robert Casillo
    Pages 181-232
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 233-379

About this book

This book places Germaine de Stael's influential novel, Corrine, or Italy (1807) in relation to preceding and subsequent stereotypes of Italy as seen in the works of Northern European and American travel writers since the Renaissance.

Reviews

'In this impeccably written and comprehensively researched book, Casillo takes Madame de Staël seriously as the superlative cultural analyst that she so clearly was for her contemporaries. Confronting the stereotypes of travelers with the assessments of historians, political scientists, and sociologists, Casillo reveals what Italy and the Italians have meant over three centuries. The result is a tour de force.' - Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson, Professor of Sociology, Columbia University

'An intricate and cogent account of the perception of Italy through the centuries.' - Massimo Bacigalupo, Professor of English and American Literature, University of Genoa

'The Grand Tour through Italy has been an obligatory step in the education of young and old for almost three centuries. Desired, imagined, praised, and criticized, Italy has become overridden with clichés and commonplaces. Beginning with Madame de Staël's Corinne, ou l'Italie, Casillo examines with perceptive depth and rich knowledge the origin of the stereotypes surrounding 'Il Bel Paese.' This is a precious contribution.' - Giovanna Franci, Professor of English and American Literature, University of Bologna

'This is an invaluable book. Rich in deep and original analyses of the cultural phenomena from the late Renaissance into the twentieth century, it is marked by the intellectual rigor of a profound historical approach. While it employs an interdisciplinary approach to its subject, italso reveals the continuing contemporary relevance of its cultural and political issues.' - Cristina Giorcelli, Professor of English and American Literature, University of Rome

"In this long needed study, Casillo provides historical, cultural, and philosophical perspective on the formation and (mis) appropriation of stereotypes of Italy and Italians. Using Madame de Staël as the pivot of many centuries of often pejorative writing on Italy, Casillo retraces in detail a long history of prejudice while at the same time documenting the historical facts that illuminate and underlie the process of stereotype formation . And while examining the past, Casillo's lucid research exposes the ideological limitations of the often prejudicial debate over Italy and Italians which is far from over.' - Andrea Carosso, Professor of English and American Literature, University of Turin

About the author

ROBERT CASILLO is Professor of English, University of Miami, USA,

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access