Subtitle: I casi italiano e norvegese [The international revision of history textbooks between the two world wars. The cases of Italy and Norway.]
Anicia, Rome
What role did the teaching of history play in the construction of the prejudices that generated enmity between peoples and caused the outbreak of the First World War? Is it possible that the selection of topics and the way they were presented, especially in primary schools, was responsible for this? In the years after the First World War, characterised by the international development of primary schooling, the didactics of history seemed particularly crucial in determining the orientation of the generations to come. For this reason, history books were the subject of analysis and criticism more than other school texts. The topic was the subject of numerous international congresses in which intellectuals from all over the world questioned and debated the need to change school textbooks, presenting a considerable variety of theories and proposals, of which we have tried to propose the main ones. We have chosen to highlight the Italian and Norwegian experiences more because, although both responded to the need to build a national identity through schooling, they made opposing educational choices, especially with respect to the nationalism to be transmitted.
The information was taken from the publisher's website.
