Research: On the Margins of the Colony: Italian Poor Whites amid Precarity, Crime, and Promiscuity in Italian East Africa (1936–1941)
Biography: I am a historian of Fascism and Italian colonialism, specifically in the fields of settler colonial studies, subaltern studies, and environmental studies. I also have a particular interest in analysing the peculiarity of Fascist colonies in relation to their totalitarian societies; the study of rumours as an historical source in colonial and totalitarian contexts; the Fascist representation of the African environment; the Italian community in Ethiopia after the Second World War; and the employment of colonial violence. My PhD thesis investigates the category of the Italian poor whites in Italian East Africa (1936-1941) through a comparison between the Italian and other settler colonial contexts.
Email: gianluca.bo@uniroma1.it
Current Affiliation: University “La Sapienza” of Rome, Department of History Anthropology Religions Art Performance (SARAS)
EDUCATION
Master in History and Oriental Studies
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy (01/09/2020 – 16/03/2023). Thesis: The poor whites in Italian East Africa (1936-1941). Supervisor Karin Pallaver (Assistant Professor, University of Bologna). Co-supervisor Haile Muluken (Assistant Professor, Addis Ababa University). Field of study African studies. Final grade 110L/110
Bachelor in History
University of Turin, Italy (01/09/2017-31/07/2020). Thesis The Catholic and Communist Subcultures from the Republic of the Parties to the Present. Supervisor Paolo Soddu (Assistant Professor, University of Turin). Field of study Contemporary history. Final grade 110L/110
WORKING EXPERIENCE
PhD Candidate
University “La Sapienza” of Rome, SARAS Department, Italy (01/11/2023 – current) XXXIX cycle, with scholarship. Thesis title: At the Margins of the Colony: Italian Poor Whites between Precarity, Criminality, and Promiscuity in Italian East Africa (1936–1941) - Supervisor: Elena Papadia (University “La Sapienza” of Rome); Co-supervisor: Emanuele Ertola (University of Siena), Lucia Carminati (University of Oslo)
University Tutor
University “La Sapienza” of Rome, SARAS Department, Italy (October 2024 – June 2025) - LIMES tutoring (Laboratory of Introduction to Methodology and Scientific Writing) for CdS L42 in History, Anthropology, Religions (DI NEPI). Coordinate the project exercises and organise the calendar. Carry out and supervise disciplinary work in the field of Contemporary History, including guiding students in the use of bibliographic and archival databases. Provide feedback on their oral presentations, followed by their written texts on assigned topics. Finally, ensure that corrections are received and assess the completed work.
Assistant Researcher
Comitato Italiani all’Estero (COMITES) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (01/08/2022 – 01/01/2023). Data collection activities for the project "The Italian community in Ethiopia after 1941", funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Conducting ten oral interviews with witnesses of post-colonial history of the Italian community in Ethiopia (1941-1974) and reviewing the audiovisual material collected. Implementation of the website 'http://www.storiaitalianidetiopia.org'.
University Tutor
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy (07/06/2022 – 31/07/2022). Tutor for incoming students at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Dual Degree UniBo-UDE project.
Internship in internalisation projects
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Italy (01/05/2022 – 31/07/2022) - Involvement in the implementation of University's strategic projects concerning international student admission procedures and the activation of mobility/double degree agreements between the University of Bologna and two European universities (Vinlius College of Technologies and Design, Duisburg University).
PUBLICATIONS (DOUBLE-PEER REVIEWED)
- Road workers in the AOI: economic conditions, precariousness and agency "Society and History", n. 183, 2024
- "Acts detrimental of the racial prestige" in Italian East Africa (1936-1941) "Storicamente", 19, n. 22, 2023
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
The Italian populace in Ethiopia (1941-1974)
With Valentina Fusari (University of Turin), http://www.storiaitalianidetiopia.org
AWARDS AND HONORS
Winner of the Tutor Scholarship
University “La Sapienza” of Rome, SARAS Department (09/10/2024)
Grant of € 2,000 for participation in the teaching and evaluation process for the LIMES course
Finalist for the V SISSCO Prize for a journal article (2024)
Italian Society for the Study of Contemporary History (SISSCO) (September 2024) Article in the finalist triplet: "Acts detrimental of the racial prestige" in Italian East Africa (1936-1941), "Storicamente", 19, n. 22, 2023
Winner of the position of Visiting Scholar
University of London, School of Advanced Studies, Institute of Languages, Cultures, and Societies (ILCS) (January-July 2025)
Winner of the PhD scholarship "PNRR DM 118/23 - GENERIC: Norm, institution, experience between space and time"
University “La Sapienza” of Rome, SARAS Department (06/10/2023)
Winner of the Call for Proposals for the Preparation of a Master's Thesis Abroad
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Department of History, Cultures and Civilisations (DISCI) (05/07/2022) - Grant of € 1,735.00 for the preparation of a Master thesis at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies (Addis Ababa University)
Selected among 40 University of Bologna Excellences to participate in the third edition of the Intrapreneurship Programme
Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna (03/01/2022) - Programme of excellence aimed at studying the dynamics of the operation and development of strategic actions of the University
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Laboratory of Introduction to Methodology and Scientific Writing (LIMES)
University "La Sapienza" of Rome, SARAS Department (12-14/12/2024) - Two lessons (four hours overall) regarding the methodological and historiographical approach for studying Contemporary History.
ORGANISATION OF CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
Sources from East Africa: New Perspectives on the Colonial Era
Panel proposal accepted for the "Cantieri di Storia XIII" Conference of the Italian Society for the Study of Contemporary History, Pisa (11-13/09/2025)
Self and Other in Italian Colonial Memories: Perspectives Across Borders
Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, School of Advanced Studies, London (03/06//2025) - https://ilcs.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/self-other-italian-colonial-memories-perspectives-across-borders
The shifting boundary between public and private: sources, methodologies, new research approaches in the contemporary age
University "La Sapienza" of Rome, SARAS Department (29-30/05/2025)
Historiography and narratives. Between thematic and methodological novelties in the 20th century
University "La Sapienza" of Rome, SARAS Department (05/12/2024)
CONFERENCES (SELECTIONS)
Representations of self and other in autobiographical accounts of the Italian occupation of Ethiopia
Institute of Languages, Cultures, and Societies, School of Advanced Studies, London (03/06/2025) - Seminar "Self and Other in Italian Colonial Memories: Perspectives Across Borders"
At the Margins of the Colony: Italian Poor Whites between Precarity, Criminality, and Promiscuity in Italian East Africa (1936–1941)
University of Siena (7-8/05/2025) - Ongoing Histories XIX (Storie in Corso) – National PhD Students’ Seminar, SISSCO
Fascist Economic Policies, Colonial Development, and Social Mobility In The Italian Colonies: The case study of padroncini (truck-owners) in Italian East Africa (1936-1941)
University "La Sapienza" of Rome, Faculty of Economics, MEMOTEF Department (26/09/2024–27/09/2024) - 17th Annual Meeting of the African Economic History Network (AEHN), «Changes and Continuities in African Economic History: Mobilities, Environment and Development». Panel n. 13, «Transport And Development»
Cohabitation, cultural mediation, and racial rhetoric in the Italian colonial administration. The case study of Government Resident Lino Calabrò in Occupied Ethiopia (1936-1941)
University of Messina (12/09/2024 – 14/09/2024) - VII ASAI Conference “Longing for Belonging: Communities and Divides in Africa”. Panel No. 6, ‘National belongings and religious pluralism: the passeurs in contemporary Africa between cohabitation and conflict’
The concept of 'serendipity' and the study of the colonial phenomenon in field research
University “La Sapienza” of Rome, Faculty of Letters and Philosophy (17/06/2024) - PhD students advanced seminar "Serendipity. Finding something while looking for something else"
"Italians good people?" Stories of everyday violence
Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna (07/12/2023) - Seminar for the "Rete degli universitari - UDU Bologna"
Economic crimes as a case study of interracial contacts in Italian East Africa (1936-1941)
University of Pisa (23/06/2023) - ASMI Postgraduate Summer School 2023
The history of Italian colonialism in Ethiopia
Italian National Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (07/12/2022 - 12/12/2022)
Young people and Italian comedy (commedia all'italiana)
Italian Cultural Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (20/10/2022) - XXII Week of the Italian Language in the World, 17-23 October 2022, Theme: "The Italian language and young people"
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION
- Member of SISSCO (Italian Society for the Study of Contemporary History) 12/2023 - current
- Member of ASAI (Association for the African Studies in Italy) 12/2023 - current
- Member of ASMI (Association for the Study of Modern Italy) 05/2023 - current
LANGUAGES
Italian Mother tongue
English Proficiency Level (C1 IELTS certification, June 2023, overall score 7,5)