Phenomena of evident chance are notices in Italian periodical for children during the first fifteen years of the twenty century; children and young people through their magazines begin to exercise more and more their freedom of choice and to activate personal ways of reading by building their own ideal text that could continuously nourish along new and original itineraries. The relationship between young readers and magazines becomes increasingly close and in the “child writings” (the reader’s column, letters, etc.) places such as the home, the games room, the school, the home theater, are presented as spaces of education. When in 1906 “Il giornalino della domenica” began its publications, it represented a revolutionary novelty in the panorama of children’s press, still profoundly nineteenth-century: often boring pages enlivened only sporadically by some image. The periodical founded by Luigi Bertelli (better known under the pseudonym of Vamba), however, in years when it was damaging to write for children, showed the collaboration of capable and sensitive writers for children and, although occasionally, of renowned authors. Although it promises the training of young readers, the periodical always kept in mind their childlike nature and their needs, by acquiring a socializing and modern “rebellious” playful flair. The aim was not to teach reading or writing, but to allow children to recognize their fantasies and desires through stories, poems, and essays. For this report, we will consider only the years of the first editorial direction of Luigi Bertelli: that is from 1906 to 1911. The educational project that the Florentine writer intends to realize through the texts and illustrations published in the magazine, consciously distances itself from the normative tensions of the nineteenth century to affirm an idea of a new and different kind of childhood, to whom is recognized the ability to possess and exercise a taste and to prefer what is fun from what bores. Thus the columns, in which the voice of young readers is more evident, will be particularly interesting from our point of view. While it is common to see the children of the past through the adult descriptive filter, it is more difficult to hear their direct voice. Therefore, the letters and other contributions of young readers of children's magazines become an important instrument to analyze, from a historical-educational and historical-literary point of view, the role of real and ideal readers in the changing and rich debate that the life of the periodicals activates within and beyond their pages. In this sense, we will try to bring out, in particular from the columns of the "Giornalino", the representation of the spaces of education. Real spaces described and spaces imagined as they come to light from the representations of the authors of the texts but also and above all from the words of the readers with the aim of analyzing their role in the history of education.
Fenomeni di evidente cambiamento si registrano nella pubblicistica per l’infanzia italiana nel corso del primo quindicennio del Novecento; i bambini e i ragazzi attraverso le riviste a loro destinate cominciano a esercitare sempre più la loro libertà di scelta e ad attivare modalità di lettura personali andando a costruire un proprio testo ideale che continuamente potevano alimentare lungo itinerari nuovi e originali. Il rapporto tra giovani lettori e riviste si fa sempre più stretto e nelle “scritture bambine” (rubriche dei lettori, lettere, eccetera) luoghi come la casa, la stanza dei giochi, la scuola, il teatro domestico, si presentano come spazi dell’educazione. Quando nel 1906 “Il giornalino della domenica” iniziò le sue pubblicazioni, rappresentò una novità rivoluzionaria nel panorama della stampa per ragazzi, ancora profondamente ottocentesca: pagine di testo spesso noiose allietate solo sporadicamente da qualche immagine. Il periodico fondato da Luigi Bertelli (più noto con lo pseudonimo di Vamba), invece, in anni in cui era sconveniente scrivere per l’infanzia, registrò la collaborazione di abili e sensibili narratori per ragazzi e, seppur saltuariamente, di letterati di fama. Pur promettendosi la formazione dei giovani lettori, il periodico tenne sempre presente la loro natura infantile e le relative esigenze dotandosi di una vena ludica socializzante e modernamente “ribellistica”. Lo scopo non era quello di insegnare a leggere o scrivere, ma permettere ai bambini di riconoscere le proprie fantasie e desideri attraverso storie, poemi, saggi. Per questa relazione prenderemo in considerazione solamente gli anni della prima direzione di Luigi Bertelli: ovvero quelli dal 1906 al 1911. Il progetto educativo che lo scrittore fiorentino intende realizzare attraverso i testi pubblicati e le illustrazioni, si distanzia consapevolmente dalle tensioni normative del XIX secolo per affermare un’idea di infanzia diversa e nuova, a cui è riconosciuta la capacità di possedere ed esercitare un gusto, di preferire ciò che diverte da ciò che annoia. Di particolare interesse dal nostro punto di vista saranno le rubriche in cui la voce dei giovani lettori è più evidente. Se è infatti vero che, dal punto di vista storiografico, mentre è diffuso poter vedere i bambini del passato attraverso il filtro descrittivo adulto, è più difficile sentirne la voce diretta; le lettere e altri contributi dei giovani lettori delle riviste per ragazzi divengono così un importante strumento per indagare dal punto di vista storico-educativo e storico-letterario il ruolo svolto da lettori reali e ideali nel mutevole e vivace dibattito che la vita dei periodici attiva entro e oltre le proprie pagine. In questo senso si cercherà di far emergere, in particolare dalle rubriche del “Giornalino”, la rappresentazione degli spazi dell’educazione. Spazi reali descritti e spazi immaginati come emergono nelle rappresentazioni degli autori dei testi ma anche e soprattutto dalle parole dei lettori con lo scopo di analizzarne il ruolo nella storia dell’educazione.
Barsotti, S. (2019). The representation of the spaces of education in “Il giornalino della domenica” in the years of the first editorial direction of Luigi Bertelli (Vamba): 1906-1911. In ISCHE 41-Spaces and places of education-Book of Abstracts. PRT : International Standing Conference for the History of Education & Centre for Research and Intervention in Education of the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto.
The representation of the spaces of education in “Il giornalino della domenica” in the years of the first editorial direction of Luigi Bertelli (Vamba): 1906-1911
S. Barsotti
2019-01-01
Abstract
Phenomena of evident chance are notices in Italian periodical for children during the first fifteen years of the twenty century; children and young people through their magazines begin to exercise more and more their freedom of choice and to activate personal ways of reading by building their own ideal text that could continuously nourish along new and original itineraries. The relationship between young readers and magazines becomes increasingly close and in the “child writings” (the reader’s column, letters, etc.) places such as the home, the games room, the school, the home theater, are presented as spaces of education. When in 1906 “Il giornalino della domenica” began its publications, it represented a revolutionary novelty in the panorama of children’s press, still profoundly nineteenth-century: often boring pages enlivened only sporadically by some image. The periodical founded by Luigi Bertelli (better known under the pseudonym of Vamba), however, in years when it was damaging to write for children, showed the collaboration of capable and sensitive writers for children and, although occasionally, of renowned authors. Although it promises the training of young readers, the periodical always kept in mind their childlike nature and their needs, by acquiring a socializing and modern “rebellious” playful flair. The aim was not to teach reading or writing, but to allow children to recognize their fantasies and desires through stories, poems, and essays. For this report, we will consider only the years of the first editorial direction of Luigi Bertelli: that is from 1906 to 1911. The educational project that the Florentine writer intends to realize through the texts and illustrations published in the magazine, consciously distances itself from the normative tensions of the nineteenth century to affirm an idea of a new and different kind of childhood, to whom is recognized the ability to possess and exercise a taste and to prefer what is fun from what bores. Thus the columns, in which the voice of young readers is more evident, will be particularly interesting from our point of view. While it is common to see the children of the past through the adult descriptive filter, it is more difficult to hear their direct voice. Therefore, the letters and other contributions of young readers of children's magazines become an important instrument to analyze, from a historical-educational and historical-literary point of view, the role of real and ideal readers in the changing and rich debate that the life of the periodicals activates within and beyond their pages. In this sense, we will try to bring out, in particular from the columns of the "Giornalino", the representation of the spaces of education. Real spaces described and spaces imagined as they come to light from the representations of the authors of the texts but also and above all from the words of the readers with the aim of analyzing their role in the history of education.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.