The volume focuses on the relationships between the development of schools of historical science, research institutions and the professionalisation of historians in Italy between the 1920s and 1950s. The analysis is centred on the interaction between society, the political context and the historian’s profession in the nation-building process and on the interrelations between the scientific community and the codification of the historical field. In order to develop all of these topics it has been necessary to understand, first of all, the mechanisms for the selection of scientific knowledge, the foundation of specific scientific institutions and the features of the profession over a longue durée and from a comparative perspective. The national and international debate on the professionalisation of historians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has been the methodological basis from which has proceeded the study of the features of the historians’ ‘profession’ in Italy during and after the Fascist regime, with a focus on the double feature of permanence and rupture. Through a multifaceted investigation of different historical institutions and universities on a national, local and regional level as well as on the international plane, the research tries to clarify the evolution of Italian historical scientific institutions and the historiography of this period. Such research has become possible in recent years through the opening up of the private correspondence and archives of many of the major figures and the institutions responsible in Italy for the organisation of historical research.
Il volume si concentra sulle relazioni tra lo sviluppo delle scuole di scienze storiche, le istituzioni di ricerca e la professionalizzazione degli storici in Italia tra gli anni Venti e Cinquanta. L'analisi è incentrata sull'interazione tra società, contesto politico e la professione dello storico nel processo di costruzione della nazione e sulle interrelazioni tra la comunità scientifica e la codificazione del campo storico. Per sviluppare tutti questi argomenti è stato necessario comprendere, innanzitutto, i meccanismi di selezione del sapere scientifico, la fondazione di specifiche istituzioni scientifiche e le caratteristiche della professione su una lunga durata e da una prospettiva comparativa. Il dibattito nazionale e internazionale sulla professionalizzazione degli storici nel XIX e XX secolo ha costituito la base metodologica da cui è proseguito lo studio delle caratteristiche della "professione" dello storico in Italia durante e dopo il regime fascista, con particolare attenzione alla doppia caratteristica di permanenza e rottura. Attraverso un'indagine sfaccettata su diverse istituzioni storiche e universitarie a livello nazionale, locale e regionale, così come sul piano internazionale, la ricerca cerca di chiarire l'evoluzione delle istituzioni scientifiche storiche italiane e la storiografia di questo periodo. Tale ricerca è diventata possibile negli ultimi anni grazie all'apertura della corrispondenza privata e degli archivi di molte delle principali figure e istituzioni responsabili in Italia per l'organizzazione della ricerca storica.
Transmitting Knowledge: the Professionalisation of Italian Historians (1920s-1950s)
Angelini, Margherita
2010-01-01
Abstract
The volume focuses on the relationships between the development of schools of historical science, research institutions and the professionalisation of historians in Italy between the 1920s and 1950s. The analysis is centred on the interaction between society, the political context and the historian’s profession in the nation-building process and on the interrelations between the scientific community and the codification of the historical field. In order to develop all of these topics it has been necessary to understand, first of all, the mechanisms for the selection of scientific knowledge, the foundation of specific scientific institutions and the features of the profession over a longue durée and from a comparative perspective. The national and international debate on the professionalisation of historians in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has been the methodological basis from which has proceeded the study of the features of the historians’ ‘profession’ in Italy during and after the Fascist regime, with a focus on the double feature of permanence and rupture. Through a multifaceted investigation of different historical institutions and universities on a national, local and regional level as well as on the international plane, the research tries to clarify the evolution of Italian historical scientific institutions and the historiography of this period. Such research has become possible in recent years through the opening up of the private correspondence and archives of many of the major figures and the institutions responsible in Italy for the organisation of historical research.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
