Public Representations of Italian Women Partisans on Social Media: A Corpus Linguistics Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.2532-8816/24273Keywords:
Public Representation, Collective Memory, Partisan Women, Social Media, Corpus LinguisticsAbstract
This article examines the modes of public representation of Italian women partisans through a linguistic analysis of posts published on Instagram and Facebook, investigating the relationship between collective memory, identity narratives, and digital language. Starting from the concept of public representation – understood here as a symbolic and discursive construction produced and circulated within the public sphere – the study positions itself at the intersection of historiography, gender studies, and the digital humanities. The research adopts a corpus linguistics methodology to explore the latent components of social media discourse, with particular attention to recurring linguistic patterns. The analysis of digital corpora, consisting of textual content extracted from social media platforms, reveals both continuities and discontinuities in narratives about women partisans. It highlights processes of simplification, stereotyping, and depoliticization, while also identifying the emergence of new forms of visibility and celebratory representation. The findings show how digital language actively contributes to the sedimentation of public memory, shaping the historical perception of women’s experiences in the Resistance and underscoring the central role of social media platforms in the construction of the contemporary collective imaginary.
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