Federica Costantino

Research Topic

My research investigates the little-examined triangular relationship between Japan, Italy, and Ethiopia in the 1930s. In particular, my project engages with the transnational circulation of knowledge among empires from the viewpoint of “counter-state” actors who made active use of inter-imperial ties, usually for personal anti-imperial objectives. 

These actors, who range from Italian priests to Turanist lawyers and Japanese women wishing to become Ethiopian princesses, may have advanced very different personal and political agendas, but they offer as a whole a new understanding of a decade that is usually presented as inevitably “doomed” to Fascism. 

 I am originally from the beautiful sunny region of Puglia, Italy, and I have completed my B.A. in Japanese studies at La Sapienza University, Rome. After an M.A.in Japanese politics and international relations at L’Orientale University of Naples, I briefly worked as a research analyst in the food and beverage sector for Asian restaurants in Rome. But the call of academia was so strong that I decided to set sail for another adventure and completed an M.A. at Columbia University in the City of New York, where my interest in my current research was sparked. Now I’m back in the Old World, where you can find me juggling my time between my beloved doctoral research, tea-tasting sessions, and baking experiments. 

My research is generously supported by, among others, the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, the Faculty of History, and the Queen’s College.

Supervisor: Professor Sho Konishi