‘Quando il Mondo era Roma’: schoolbooks to instil fascism among italian people abroad, the case of Brazil (1922-1938)

Abstract

Schools identified with ethnic marks by language, knowledge and way of operating proliferated in Brazil at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Since 1870, Italian schools were inspected by consuls, linked to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The shipping and distribution of books was carried out by means of consuls who were key pieces during fascism. The objective is to understand the policies, production, circulation, and distribution of schoolbooks produced during fascism for Italian schools abroad, with emphasis on those that circulated in Brazil between 1922 and 1938, a period of nationalization and closing of ethnic schools. As an example, ‘Quando il Mondo era Roma’, book of “short news about a little town that gave a great civilization to the world” (FACI ITALIANI, 1932, p. II). From the History of Education and the Cultural History, a historical document analysis of laws, mailing, reports made by consuls, photographs, schoolbooks, and newspapers was carried out.