Searching for a common memory: the education of migrants in the national identity project

Abstract

15,778,590 Italians emigrated at the end of the nineteenth century and during the first decades of the 1900s, during the historical period in which the process of "constructing" the nation became more intense and decisive. In a climate of heated political and social debate about the issues surrounding emigration, various educational initiatives which intercepted Italian emigrants before their expatriation became widespread, with the aim of im-proving their literacy and promoting cultural and social activities. Using a broad range of archival documentation, this essay aims to investigate the process of constructing national identity and sentiment in post-unification Italy, trying to bring out the implications of this process with respect to the emancipatory dimension of education for citizenship.