Project description DEENESFRITPL African racial identity during Italy’s national unification, colonial conquests What was the role of visual and material culture in the formation of an African racial identity during Italy’s national unification and its colonial conquests up to the fall of fascism? The EU-funded ARER project will answer this question. Italian colonialism coincided with the constitution of the nation state. Its first campaigns turned towards Africa, reinforcing patriotic sentiment and inscribing Italy among the colonial powers. As such, the figure of the Italian was in contrast to that of the Africans. The project’s findings will provide new insight into the current discussion about the contemporary resurgence of racism and xenophobia in a Europe affected by a migration crisis and the rise of populism. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective This research project entitled Aesthetic and Anthropological Representations as Evidence of Racism: from Italian Unification (1861) to the Fall of Fascism (1943) (ARER) aims to study the role of visual and material culture in the formation of an African racial identity during Italy’s national unification and its colonial conquests up to the fall of fascism. Italian colonialism, later than that of its French and English neighbours, coincided with the constitution of the nation-state, and it was imperative that its first campaigns, exclusively turned towards Africa, reinforce patriotic sentiment and inscribe Italy among the colonial powers. The figure of the Italian was thus invented progressively by way of contrast to African populations, and through the exaltation of its Roman and Etruscan origins, in order to legitimate its vocation to conquer and ‘civilize’ the world. Situated at the crossroads of art, history and anthropology, the theoretical results of my study have for an ambition to help question the contemporary resurgence of racism and xenophobia in a Europe affected by a migration crisis and the rise of populism. Fields of science humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistorysocial sciencessociologysocial issuessocial inequalitiesracial inequalitysocial sciencessociologyanthropology Keywords RACE VISUAL CULTURE MATERIAL CULTURE ANTHROPOLOGY COLONIALISM FASCISM Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2019 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2019 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE Net EU contribution € 175 673,28 Address Via dei roccettini 9 50014 Fiesole Italy See on map Region Centro (IT) Toscana Firenze Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
