Naples and the anglophone

“Drawing upon first-hand experience and supported by an extensive bibliography and a wide-ranging critical reading of the arguments presented, this rich and innovative text proposes a literary and poetic perambulation through the sites and sights of the city. In these Neapolitan encounters, with their mishmash of dialects, accents, and language, the author carefully undoes the Anglophone claims on the world by registering performative practices that connect the unruly body of Naples through photography, literature, and the visual arts to critical evaluations sustained in planetary perspectives. The voyeurism of both the tourist and the social scientist is contested, and the desire for the claims of transparency as truth is radically stymied” – Iain Chambers, Professor of Cultural and Postcolonial Studies at Università degli Studi di Napoli, “L'Orientale,” Italy

This book examines the dialogue between Naples and the anglophone, exploring how this interaction unfolds within the increasingly fractured space of the contemporary while addressing the archival significance deeply embedded within the textures of the city. The confrontation between the cultures is registered in three critical encounters: images of Naples by the photographer Johnnie Shand Kydd, the Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante, and the mosaic at the Toledo metro station by the artist William Kentridge. These critical moments of contact, permit an interdisciplinary engagement with the modern representation and simultaneous production of ‘Naples', which is now, more than ever, increasingly hybridised in nature.

Tehezeeb Moitra, PhD, is based in Naples, Italy. She works both at Universita' Suor Orsola Benincasa in Naples and at The American University of Rome, Italy. She holds a Ph.D. from L'Università degli Studi di Napoli L'Orientale; Masters degrees in English Literature from Saint Louis University, Madrid Campus and Contemporary Art from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London; her Bachelor's degree was obtained from Oberlin College in Ohio. Her research interests include Postcolonial Studies, Cultural Studies, Linguistics and Gender Studies on which she has several publications. Tehezeeb describes herself as a passionate dreamer who believes deeply in humanity and the quest for Platonic ideals.