International Conference
"Minorities in Armies: Ethnicity, Race, Alienage"
University of Warwick, Institute for Advanced Studies, 30th June 2015, 10:00am-5:30pm
The conference was a pleasant moment for exchange of ideas and presentation of different casestudies relating to the presence of minorities within the national armies. The goal of the conference
was to investigate more the variegated experiences and identities of soldiers in the armed forces
against the backdrop of the perceived homogeneity of the "national" armed forces.
The international conference gathered scholars from several countries, including the United
Kingdom, Italy, and Brazil. The floor of delegates was a good mix between senior and early-career
scholars.
The morning session recounted experiences related to Italians or Italian ethnics in the Allied armed
forces in World War II, or people of Italian descent enrolled in the Italian armed forces. The
afternoon session was devoted to the analysis of the experience of ethnic and racial minorities in the
British armed forces from World War II to the postwar years.
All in all, the conference led the speakers and attendees to have good and prolific discussions.
Hopefully, these contributes will find room in a devoted book to the role of minorities in the armed
forces.
Matteo Pretelli
School of Modern Languages and Cultures - Italian Studies
University of Warwick