Paper short abstract:

My contribution examines the ethnographic itinerary of the Italian journal "La Difesa della Razza" and looks at the "iconographic campaign" initiated by this colonial journal.

Paper long abstract:

Best known as the "Icon of racist policy", the Italian journal "La Difesa della Razza" was first published in August 1938, a few months before the introduction of racial laws by the fascist government. The bimonthly magazine had a key role in promoting fascist ideas on race all over the Italian Empire. In the best sense, it provides a panoptical view of the 'pedagogic aims' of fascist policies. The texts generated provide a thorough racialization of juridical, philosophical, biomedical, esthetical and religious discourses, affecting all domains of social life. My contribution examines the ethnographic itinerary by analyzing the "iconographic campaign" initiated by the journal. I will look at the rhetoric strategies of communicating the hegemonic racist project, aiming at the creation of new categories of social inclusion and exclusion in the Italian Empire.