Rileggere il passato: il colonialismo italiano attraverso le tavole illustrate come strumento educativo

Abstract

There are many visible traces of the Italian colonialism in the public spaces. The spaces we inhabit daily are still populated by monuments that recall the colonial experience. Colonialism also shaped the ways in which Africa and Africans have been conceived. Representations of Africa in the Italian mass media and public debates produced mental images and shared narratives that influenced the construction of Italian identity. This identity has been, in part, built upon the minimization of the colonial violence inflicted upon the colonized populations. The events of Italian colonialism have largely fallen into a form of collective oblivion. The topic is rarely addressed in contexts typically dedicated to civic education, such as schools or museums. Colonialism can be narrated in many ways, and the lens through which we approach it shapes the resulting narrative. This article explores how the use of illustration, and the possibility of interacting with images, can contribute to building a more conscious narrative of the colonial phenomenon. The merging of educational institutions with the interactive tool of illustration can foster a kind of learning based not only on the acquisition of information, but on the development of critical thinking.