“Al chiaro di luna”. Memorie di italiani nell’Eritrea coloniale e post coloniale - Note su una ricerca in corso

The article represents one of the first results of the research that led to the presentation of the collection of récits de vie “Al Chiaro di Luna, memorie di italiani nell’Eritrea coloniale e post-coloniale”. Eritrea appears to be a particular study case for colonial and post-colonial studies compared to the other Italian domains in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia and Somalia, for the most extended period of colonization that mostly affected the quantity, quality and value of the testimonies. The study has as privileged field of research subjectivity of minor actors, the petit blancs, and their historical experience, with reference to their role in the urban reality of Asmara and to the social and cultural interrelationships with the native communities. The perspective and the methodological decisions are centered on the dimension of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, moving from a “face to face” approach to each witness. The aim of the article is to focus attention on the valence of oral and written memories in the reconstruction of the colonial and post-colonial past. The oral biographies allow us to investigate into the subjectivity category: this way it becomes possible to highlight the formal and informal spaces achieved by Italians in the Eritrean colonial society and the relationships of consent and conflict with the Eritrean community, such as the relationship with the colonial administration and with the post-colonial power.