Sinibaldi, Caterina (2012) Between censorship and propaganda : the translation and rewriting of children's literature during facism. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The thesis sets out to examine the little studied phenomenon of translating and rewriting
children’s literature during Fascism. Under Mussolini’s rule, books for children had to perform
the important task of forging the ‘new Italians’. For this reason, the presence of foreign
literature on the Italian book market became increasingly problematic, as the regime attempted
to achieve cultural and economic autarchy. This research aims to show how, rather than merely
reflecting dominant ideologies, the translation of books for children was a site for negotiation,
allowing different, and sometimes conflicting narratives and discourses to be identified and
fruitfully examined.
By adopting an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, where theories from
Translation Studies, Children’s Literature, and studies on Fascism, are integrated, translations
and rewritings of books for children are employed as hermeneutic tools to explore the
multifaceted nature of the regime’s ideology and cultural production, beyond the official façade
of unity and consistency. Central questions concerning the construction and defense of Fascist
identity are addressed through a selection of case studies, showing different strategies and
functions of translating and rewriting for children.
The Fascist rewritings of Collodi’s Pinocchio are analysed in relation to Fascism’s
relationship with tradition, focusing on the ways in which the past was ‘rewritten’ at different
phases of the dictatorship.
The challenges of translating a book that had been openly condemned by Fascist
institutions are examined by looking at the two translations of Alice in Wonderland which
appeared during the 1930s.
The complex reception and the controversial success of American comics is
investigated, where the different strategies of translation and re-creation reveal complex
dynamics of interactions between imported and native products.
Finally, the process of rewriting an apparently timeless and universal tradition is
observed in the book series ‘La Scala d’Oro’, which was highly regarded by official culture,
despite publishing mostly foreign titles.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DG Italy J Political Science > JC Political theory P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Literature in propaganda -- Italy, Children's literature -- Political aspects, Fascism -- Italy, Fascism and literature -- Italy, Children's literature -- Translations into Italian
Official Date:	July 2012
Dates:	Date Event July 2012 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Italian
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Polezzi, Loredana
Extent:	348 leaves : illustrations.
Language:	eng

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