School Memories between Social Perception and Collective Representation (Italy, 1861-2001)

Funding programme: MUR - PRIN 2017

Project reference: 2017STEF2S

Principal investigator: Roberto Sani

Role UniMC: Coordinator

Partnership: Università Roma Tre, Università di Firenze, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Milano

Runtime: 18.08.2019 - 17.08.2022

Short description: The aim of this project is basically to research the way in which school, teaching, learning and education have been proposed – over the last two centuries – by the world of information and communication and by the culture industry. Nevertheless, the aim is to look at which memory of school and teaching has been developed as part of the official representation and public commemorations promoted by local and national institutions, based on a precise “memory policy” to acquire consent and to boost the idea of belonging to a specific community (“public use of the past”). From this viewpoint, this research aims to set out the development of collective perception of the role and purpose of education between 1861 and 2001, as well as to highlight the changes found – within the same timeframe – in the way teachers’ social status and their public function in schools were perceived. In fact, by studying the way in which schools and education have been collectively and symbolically represented over time, we can define the origin of some of the constraints still weighing upon the public image of school, as well as restore self-awareness and awareness of their role to all stakeholders in public education.

Total cost: € 535.600,00

MUR contribution: € 360.600,00

MUR contribution to UniMC: € 109.500,00