Education, ethnic identity, and memory in the Italian ethnic schools of South Rio Grande (1875–1902)

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe object of this article is to analyse the development of ethnic Italian schools in Rio Grande do Sul during the years of colonisation in the nineteenth century (1875–1900), during which time Italian immigrants were put under a double process of nationalisation. On the one side, commencing with Imperial Brazil, and then more specifically in Republican Brazil under the new Constitution, which introduced naturalisation processes for foreign immigrants; and on the other side, the Italian government’s attempts to defend ethnic identity as a means of resistance against assimilation. Within these processes, a significantly important role in the affirmation of identity-building processes was played by Italian ethnic schools in rural and urban areas of the most southern state in Brazil, which had as their main goals, literacy and the nurturing of Italian cultural traits. The methodological basis is that of historical document analysis of archival and printed materials, most of which were unpublished, such as consular reports, acts by mutual aid associations, correspondence and press in search of ample traces, clues, and relative recurrences connected with the object of investigation. This article intends to verify the role and function of Italian ethnic schools as a space of building identities by the memory practices and specifically by celebrating patriotic anniversaries and other school commemorative events.