The delayed emergence of italian Welsh narratives, or class and the commodification of ethnicity?

Abstract

In 2005, over a century after Italians began to settle in Wales, a body of texts emerged that could be read as the first examples of Italian Welsh narrative. This article seeks to introduce and analyse this writing, exploring whether it represents a delayed expression of ethnic identity, or whether the texts are more usefully read comparatively, as part of wider cultural trends. These include the commodification of Italian-ness in the commercial sector in Wales and internationally, and transnational debates surrounding the interplay between class and ethnicity, with a particular focus on the impact of a subaltern Celtic identity, and its correlation with the working class, in British hierarchies.