La letteratura per l'infanzia come fonte per la ricostruzione dell'inclusione scolastica dei disabili in Italia

Children’s literature represents a historiographical source of considerable importance in educational-historical research. It has always transmitted value systems, social customs and, at the same time, it is a formidable receptor of historical, cultural and educational changes. Italian works of children’s literature, from the second half of the 19th century to the present day, contain numerous representations of disabled characters from which it is possible to derive precise information regarding the cultural and educational context. The contribution aims to highlight the heuristic potential of children’s literature to illuminate processes related to the history of social inclusion of disabled people in Italy and to retrace significant stages in the history of special education. Children’s literature allows a variety of transversal and longitudinal insights and it can be a dissemination tool within extra-university events which, with a glance at the past, enables a deeper understanding also of the dynamics of the present by stimulating comparative work.