Italians, the “Good People”: Reflections on National Self-Representation in Contemporary Italian Debates on Xenophobia and War

Authors

  • Paolo Favero CENTRO EM REDE DE INVESTIGAÇÃO EM ANTROPOLOGIA (CRIA), ISCTE/Instituto Universitario Lisboa, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/ocps.v12i2.2370

Keywords:

Italy, Italian history, Italian politics, memory, xenophobia, war, fascism

Abstract

Moving among historical material and contemporary debates on xenophobia and war, this paper is an exploration of the self-representation “Italiani Brava Gente”, an image claiming the intrinsic goodness of the Italian people. Originated during the first Italian colonial enterprises, it has been used also for overcoming the horrors of Fascism and is evoked in contemporary Italy too for justifying traumatic and violent events. Functioning as an ideological laundry for reformulating and then setting aside disquieting moments of national shame, “Italiani Brava Gente” is central to the construction of a modern Italian identity.

Author Biography

Paolo Favero, CENTRO EM REDE DE INVESTIGAÇÃO EM ANTROPOLOGIA (CRIA), ISCTE/Instituto Universitario Lisboa, Portugal

Senior Researcher

CENTRO EM REDE DE INVESTIGAÇÃO EM ANTROPOLOGIA (CRIA), ISCTE/Instituto Universitario Lisboa, Portugal

This picture presents a collage from photos by Paolo Favero which present aspects of what might be seen as today's "fascist Rome"

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Published

2010-04-05

How to Cite

Favero, P. (2010). Italians, the “Good People”: Reflections on National Self-Representation in Contemporary Italian Debates on Xenophobia and War. Outlines. Critical Practice Studies, 12(2), 138–153. https://doi.org/10.7146/ocps.v12i2.2370

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2010): Doing Memory, Doing Identity: Politics of the Everyday in Contemporary Global Communities

Section

Articles

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