Teresa Graziano

The Tunisian diaspora: Between ‘digital riots’ and Web activism:

This article deals with the increasing connections among the Tunisian diaspora and its homeland provided by a widespread use of the social Web. The main aim is to evaluate to what extent the Tunisian diaspora has contributed to a wider diffusion of cyberactivism concerning legitimate claims for democracy and human rights, considered as one of the main driving forces behind the 2011 revolution. After introducing some epistemological and methodological issues related to the study of the Web, the article deepens the history of Tunisian migrants’ online activism in order to grasp connections with the later configuration of the cyberdissidence in their homeland. The last section is dedicated to interpretation of the graphs in order to compare the research hypotheses with the results stemming from the e-Diasporas project methodology.

Reading and interpreting the gateways in contemporary cities: an educational perspective

This work aims at highlighting the teaching potentialities of urban geography, in particular the didactic value of gateways in contemporary cities. Therefore, after a reflection on the still fundamental pedagogical value of urban geography and its teaching tools, the paper provides a model of reading and interpreting the city through the study of connections between tourist flows and consumption models in specific urban places, that is to say, the traditional city gateways such as railway stations, ports and airports.

Creativity as a tool of local empowerment and socio-cultural revitalization: a study of a peripheral neighbourhood in Catania

This paper deals with the geo-territorial analysis of the impacts exerted by cultural policies in a deeply marginalised suburban neighbourhood in Catania, called Librino, where in recent years many creativity-based projects have been attempting at containing socio-economic marginalisation. In fact, a no profit foundation, local actors and civic associations promoting these projects aim at limiting the deeply-rooted disadvantages of the territory, by involving the local community, particularly the youth, in art-based activities and events. Thus, this work aims at highlighting the effects of these projects, analysed within the theoretical frame of urban and geographical studies about peripheries, by tracing the urban history of this satellite quarter and its recent evolution thanks to the brand of art and creativity. Il presente lavoro si basa sull’analisi geo-territoriale degli impatti esercitati dalle politiche culturali in un quartiere profondamente emarginato della periferia di Catania, chiamato Librino, dove negli ultimi anni molti progetti basati sulla creativita hanno tentato di arginare la marginalita socio-economica. Infatti, una fondazione non profit, gli attori locali e le associazioni civili che promuovono questi progetti mirano a limitare gli svantaggi insiti nella condizione di marginalita del territorio, attraverso il coinvolgimento della comunita locale, in particolare i giovani, in eventi e attivita improntati all’arte. In particolare, il presente lavoro e finalizzato a evidenziare gli effetti di tali progetti, analizzati nell’ambito della cornice teorica degli studi urbani e geografici sulle periferie, tracciando un affresco dell’evoluzione storica di questo quartiere satellite e della sua configurazione attuale grazie al brand dell’arte e della creativita.