Saint Michael's College

Studying Political Contention over Immigrants in Italy

Studying immigrant attitudes in Italy for Liz Sell’s student research project makes sense when looking at her background: She has studied abroad in the country, and is a double minor in Italian and Global Studies. She has also lived in places such as Yugoslavia, Russia, Switzerland, and Austria: her father is a Foreign Service officer and her family moved around often.

In her research, funded by an $3,500 provost grant, Sell looked at the transition of political party attitudes held by the Northern League party in Italy. Over time, the party has been viewed as a political party for northern Italians, and one that was against all southern Italians. Then, as the 1990s unfolded, the Northern League party became the dominant player in the Italian government. As a result, Sell said, the party had to tone down its anti-Southern feelings to form a coalition with the southern Italians. When the anti-Southern attitudes faded, a set of new beliefs emerged that were anti-immigrant focused instead.

Sell said she analyzed numerous journals, books, newspapers, and Italian Web sites to learn more about the Northern League’s transformation, adding that her academic background helped to feed her interest in the issues.

Her research culminated in a nearly 40-page paper that she plans to send out to undergraduate publications. Dr. Michael Bosia, assistant professor of political science and Sell's research advisor, said the paper is an “important contribution to how we understand parties that seek to ostracize others, to show how and why they change." 

The paper and her findings also helped solidify Sell's plans to study Italian politics at the graduate school level after Saint Michael’s.