Faculty
Simone Maddanu
Associate Professor of Instruction
Contact
Office: CPR 240
Email
Bio
Dr. Maddanu earned his PhD in Sociology at the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris, France. He has extensive experience in fieldwork research across several European countries. From 2009 to 2015, he led and participated in numerous European and national research projects focusing on Islam in Europe, social movements, migration studies, urban studies, and integration. Originally from Sardinia, Dr. Maddanu has developed the ability to teach and write in multiple languages.
His first monograph, published in French in 2013, explored the experiences of Muslim youth in Italy and Europe. His research on immigration and collective urban movements in Paris and Rome led to his second monograph (2016, Kluwer/CEDAM) and a third, published by Palgrave in 2021–2022, titled Restless Cities on the Edge: Collective Actions, Immigration and Populism (with A. Farro). He has also conducted ethnographic research on refugees, asylum seekers, and the reterritorialization of urban space by migrant communities.
In 2022, he co-edited Global Modernity from Coloniality to Pandemic: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective (Amsterdam University Press) with H. N. Akil. This book offers a unique, cross-disciplinary analysis of modernity, its dominant narratives, postcolonial critiques, and emerging articulations of global modernity.
Continuing his work on global crises and the pandemic, he co-edited (with E. Toscano) Inequalities, Youth, Democracy and the Pandemic (Routledge, 2024). This wide-ranging, multi-geographic volume addresses both the unexpected social transformations and new forms of agency that emerged during the COVID-19 crisis, with a focus on youth, health, social problems, and inequality.
Dr. Maddanu’s latest monograph, Occupying Island: Resisting Militarization in a No-War Zone (with A. Esu), was released by Palgrave in 2025. This book contributes to the fields of island militarization and coloniality. It explores how autochthonous communities face disproportionate environmental risks and pollution due to military occupation and territorial servitude. Through the case of Sardinia, it offers a critical analysis of internal coloniality in the Mediterranean.
Education
Ph.D., School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (EHESS), 2009