Associate Professor of Transnational Italian Studies, Stephanie Malia Hom, was awarded two external fellowships in 2023-24 to conduct research for her ongoing book project tracing the unexplored relationship between slavery and colonialism in Italy.
The Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship is awarded to "individuals of all ages and nationalities who have made significant contributions in the arts and humanities." It provides residential Fellowships at its study center in Bogliasco, on the Italian riviera, one of Italy's most vibrant, historic crossroads where "gifted artists and scholars of all cultures come together to connect, create, and disseminate significant new work." While at Bogliasco, Professor Hom will be working on her book project, tentatively titled, "On Redemption: Slavery and Colonialism in Italy," which investigates large-scale operations of slave ransom and redemption across the Mediterranean, and asks how this control over movement served as a precedent for the civilizing mission of Italy’s imperialist enterprise. It explores how operations of salvation—rescuing slaves, civilizing natives—connect slavery and colonialism vis-à-vis mobility.
For this same research project, Professor Hom was also awarded an Ad Hoc Barbieri Grant in Modern Italian History from the Cesare Barbieri Endowment for Italian Culture of Trinity College. She will use this grant to complete archival research in Genoa and Venice, two important centers of the Mediterranean slave trade.