Les lecteurs de langue et littérature italiennes dans les universités allemandes et européennes : agents d’une diplomatie culturelle sous le fascisme ? (1922-1945)
Dissertationsprojekt von Claire Lorenzelli
Betreuer: Prof. Dr. Martin Baumeister
Claire Lorenzelli is currently pursuing a PhD at the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon in Italian Studies, in codirection with the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, under the co-supervision of Associate Professor Stéphanie Lanfranchi and Prof. Dr. Martin Baumeister.
Her research examines the cultural diplomacy of Fascist Italy through the case study of Italian language and literature lecturers at German and European universities (1922-1945). At the crossroads of diplomatic, cultural and university history, her thesis analyses the control strategies deployed by the Fascist state to control these teachers and scholars abroad, who were not originally dependent on the Italian state, by reshaping civil service boundaries and by redefining academic exchanges as embodied by the international scientific community. Furthermore, the thesis also addresses the lateral strategies used by individuals to evade or, on the contrary, make use of the restrictive framework constructed by Mussolini’s Italy, and later by nazi Germany, for the benefit of their personal advantage. The thesis thus aims to contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships between intellectuals and a Fascist regime, and to explore the space of freedom that a foreign country may or may not represent in that matter. Based on a cross-reading of multilingual sources from ministerial, university and personal records, the research is based on a reconstruction of the biographical and professional trajectories of the scholars before, during and after their experience as lecturers abroad.