The Weight of Words: What Can and Cannot Be Expressed

On February 3rd, The Department of Italian Studies hosted an event lecture featuring Professor of the Italian Practice Amara Lakhous (Yale University). The discussion covered censorship and self-censorship within different linguistic, cultural, and societal contexts.

Amara Lakhous was born in Algeria in 1970 and moved to Italy in 1995. He holds a degree in philosophy from the University of Algiers and another in Humanities from the University of Rome, La Sapienza, where he completed a Ph.D. dissertation entitled Living Islam as a Minority.

Lakhous is the author of five novels, two of which were written in both Arabic and Italian. His best-known works include the much-acclaimed Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio (2008), Divorce Islamic Style (2012), Dispute Over a Very Italian Piglet (2014), and The Prank of the Good Little Virgin in Via Ormea (2016). His latest novel in Arabic, Tir al-Lil (The Night Bird, 2019), was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2021.

His novels have been translated from Italian into nine languages. Among the awards he has received are the Flaiano Prize in Italy (2006) and the Algerian Booksellers Prize (2008).

In 2014, Lakhous moved to the United States. He is currently a Professor in the  Practice in the Department of Italian Studies at Yale University.