This article, the second in a series of four, examines the diffusion of geographical and ethnological constructs in eighteenth-century pedagogical culture. Among these, we find the concepts of ‘continent’ and ‘ocean’, which required several centuries of elaboration before they took on their current meaning. Until the age of early exploration, in fact, they remained cloaked in religious meanings or legacies of ancient philosophy, assuming a new permanent and scientific value only in the Age of Enlightenment. Along with scientific notions, eighteenth-century geographic education helped disseminate ethnographic and ethnological images that would pave the way for future colonialism, at least from a cultural point of view. These representations, as I will show, were the result of innovations and cultural continuities that characterized the educational system of the time.
Il presente articolo, il secondo di un serie di quattro, prende in esame la diffusione di costrutti geografici ed etnologici nella cultura pedagogica settecentesca. Tra questi troviamo i concetti di continente e di oceano, che richiesero alcuni secoli di elaborazione prima di assumere l’attuale significato. Fino all’età delle prime esplorazioni, infatti, rimasero ammantati di significati religiosi o ereditati dalla filosofia antica, assumendo stabilmente un nuovo valore scientifico solo nell’Età dei Lumi. Insieme alle nozioni scientifiche, l’educazione geografica settecentesca contribuì a diffondere immagini etnografiche e etnologiche che avrebbero aperto la strada al futuro colonialismo, almeno da un punto di vista culturale. Anche queste rappresentazioni, come mostrerò, erano il frutto di innovazioni e continuità culturali che caratterizzavano il sistema educativo dell’epoca.
Il manuale di geografia dal Rinascimento all’età contemporanea 2. Il Settecento tra continuità e innovazione
David Salomoni
2023-01-01
Abstract
This article, the second in a series of four, examines the diffusion of geographical and ethnological constructs in eighteenth-century pedagogical culture. Among these, we find the concepts of ‘continent’ and ‘ocean’, which required several centuries of elaboration before they took on their current meaning. Until the age of early exploration, in fact, they remained cloaked in religious meanings or legacies of ancient philosophy, assuming a new permanent and scientific value only in the Age of Enlightenment. Along with scientific notions, eighteenth-century geographic education helped disseminate ethnographic and ethnological images that would pave the way for future colonialism, at least from a cultural point of view. These representations, as I will show, were the result of innovations and cultural continuities that characterized the educational system of the time.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.