Becoming ‘the Other’: how social narratives of hostility affect the construction of self for unaccompanied minors in modern Italy

Migration studies have long observed the prevalence of ‘Othering’ practices in European narratives of migration and the pervasive effects it has on the psychological and social wellbeing of unaccompanied minors. In Italy, the research has focused substantially on the impact of integration processes on their emotional development but few studies have focused on the constructive power of discourse in the configuration of their identity. Hence, this thesis aims to explore how social narratives of hostility affect the construction of self for unaccompanied minors in modern Italy. The dissertation focuses specifically on unaccompanied minors because the demands placed on them at such a young age and the overwhelming hatred aimed at them create a peculiar set of circumstances, which have a significant impact on their identity formation when it is most malleable. Drawing primarily from Hermans’ theory of the dialogical self and Appadurai’s capacity to aspire, this thesis analyses how bordering practices, normative ideas of childhood, and expectations of integration affect unaccompanied minors’ aspirations, framing the research within Italy’s context of repressive immigration policy and colour-evasive notions of cultural membership. For unaccompanied minors, being narrativised as the threatening ‘Other’ creates a sense of double-consciousness, which constantly requires them to negotiate their positive self-images with hostile social representations, severely affecting their ability to self-project beyond their normative space of possibility. The analysis outlines how the inhibition of young migrant dreams effectively constrains their freedom, augmenting their vulnerable condition and impinging on the future that they fought so hard to make possible.