Grecanici Ethnicisation: Power and Knowledge at Work

Abstract

The implementation of the 482/1999 act in Italy substantiated the opportunity to link the linguistic minorities to the local self government. In the present paper I will argue that major institutions such as the Communita Montana and the Sportello Linguistico have refreshed the interest in the Grecanico culture in the Calabria region. Through European Union and regional sponsored courses on the Grecanico language and culture, a considerable number of people aspire to occupy a position in the aforementioned institutions. These people – of Grecanico and non Grecanico origin – are trained within the Grecanico constructivism and have followed paths of identity formation similar to nationalisms. Grecanici idiosyncratic ethnicisation is a configuration of power and knowledge with specific disciplines and governmentalities and it is constructed as both a political ideal and mobilising metaphor.