The course aims to provide theoretical, methodological and practical tools for critically analysing gender relations in educational, social and institutional contexts, promoting a transformative, intersectional and decolonial pedagogy.
At the end of the course, students should have acquired:
a. Knowledge and understanding of feminist, queer and decolonial pedagogical theories, with particular attention to the concepts of privilege, marginality, intersectionality, performativity and epistemic justice.
b. The ability to apply this knowledge to critically analyse educational practices, curricula and power relations in formal and informal contexts, with reference to the experiences of marginalised individuals.
c. Independent judgement in deconstructing dominant narratives on gender, recognising invisible epistemologies and designing fair and inclusive educational interventions.
d. Communication skills to express critical reflections in appropriate and conscious language, including through autoethnographic, narrative and performative writing.
e. Ability to learn in a reflective and situated manner, through self-observation, co-research and embodied writing, developing awareness of one's own position and ethical responsibilities.
At the end of the course, students will be able to know, understand, apply, evaluate, communicate and learn in the following areas:
1. Knowledge and Critical Understanding (Theory and Analysis)
· Understand the theoretical foundations that characterise critical and feminist pedagogy.
· Analyse the construction of race, gender and class categories from a colonial and post-colonial perspective.
· Understand and deconstruct the complex concepts of pedagogical decolonisation, racialisation, sexualisation and intersectionality.
· Interpret the principle ‘The personal is political’ and its implications in individual narratives and the public sphere, analysing the dynamics of heteropatriarchal oppression and gender-based violence.
· Recognise and critically analyse the dynamics of privilege (particularly white, male and academic privilege) and tokenism practices.
2. Autonomy of Judgement and Reflexivity (Deconstructive Area)
• Analyse, identify and deconstruct constructs related to: culture, cultural belonging and identity construction, including multi-belonging and multi-identity.
• Structure original processes of analysis and intervention in terms of planning and critical reflection, with reference to Engaged Pedagogy and Social Justice in Education.
• Apply meta-reflexivity to understand one's own epistemic and political positioning and its influence on knowledge production and professional practices.
• Develop an ethic of rejection towards liberal forms of recognition and individualistic and capitalist imperatives.
3. Applied and Communication Skills (Practical and Methodological Area)
• Design, monitor and evaluate a training or research project characterised by inter-trans-cultural thinking capable of expanding its deconstructive, systemic and anti-racist value.
• Apply critical qualitative methodologies such as autoethnography, using personal narrative as a point of access for cultural and social analysis.
• Develop communication skills that are functional to the educational relationship, the construction of an educational alliance with families and synergy with local realities.
• Be able to work in teams and in interdisciplinary and multi-professional teams, promoting narrative solidarity and co-research.
• Address the analysis of specific targets such as migrant women (double vulnerability and planning) and marginalised or racialised subjectivities.
Dublin indicators
1. Knowledge and understanding
o Know the main pedagogical theories of gender, feminism, queer and decolonialism.
o Understand the role of educational institutions in reproducing gender inequalities.
2. Applied knowledge and understanding
o Critically analyse educational practices, curricula and learning environments from an intersectional perspective.
o Apply autoethnographic tools to investigate one's own experiences in relation to gender.
3. Autonomy of judgement
o Deconstruct gender-related stereotypes, norms and power structures.
o Develop ethical and political reflections on one's educational and professional role.
4. Communication skills
o Argue using inclusive and conscious language.
o Use multiple forms of expression (writing, visualisation, performance) to communicate experiences and analyses.
5. Learning skills
o Develop transformative and reflective learning practices.
o Integrate theory and practice through autoethnographic writing and co-research.
At the end of the course, students should have acquired:
a. Knowledge and understanding of feminist, queer and decolonial pedagogical theories, with particular attention to the concepts of privilege, marginality, intersectionality, performativity and epistemic justice.
b. The ability to apply this knowledge to critically analyse educational practices, curricula and power relations in formal and informal contexts, with reference to the experiences of marginalised individuals.
c. Independent judgement in deconstructing dominant narratives on gender, recognising invisible epistemologies and designing fair and inclusive educational interventions.
d. Communication skills to express critical reflections in appropriate and conscious language, including through autoethnographic, narrative and performative writing.
e. Ability to learn in a reflective and situated manner, through self-observation, co-research and embodied writing, developing awareness of one's own position and ethical responsibilities.
At the end of the course, students will be able to know, understand, apply, evaluate, communicate and learn in the following areas:
1. Knowledge and Critical Understanding (Theory and Analysis)
· Understand the theoretical foundations that characterise critical and feminist pedagogy.
· Analyse the construction of race, gender and class categories from a colonial and post-colonial perspective.
· Understand and deconstruct the complex concepts of pedagogical decolonisation, racialisation, sexualisation and intersectionality.
· Interpret the principle ‘The personal is political’ and its implications in individual narratives and the public sphere, analysing the dynamics of heteropatriarchal oppression and gender-based violence.
· Recognise and critically analyse the dynamics of privilege (particularly white, male and academic privilege) and tokenism practices.
2. Autonomy of Judgement and Reflexivity (Deconstructive Area)
• Analyse, identify and deconstruct constructs related to: culture, cultural belonging and identity construction, including multi-belonging and multi-identity.
• Structure original processes of analysis and intervention in terms of planning and critical reflection, with reference to Engaged Pedagogy and Social Justice in Education.
• Apply meta-reflexivity to understand one's own epistemic and political positioning and its influence on knowledge production and professional practices.
• Develop an ethic of rejection towards liberal forms of recognition and individualistic and capitalist imperatives.
3. Applied and Communication Skills (Practical and Methodological Area)
• Design, monitor and evaluate a training or research project characterised by inter-trans-cultural thinking capable of expanding its deconstructive, systemic and anti-racist value.
• Apply critical qualitative methodologies such as autoethnography, using personal narrative as a point of access for cultural and social analysis.
• Develop communication skills that are functional to the educational relationship, the construction of an educational alliance with families and synergy with local realities.
• Be able to work in teams and in interdisciplinary and multi-professional teams, promoting narrative solidarity and co-research.
• Address the analysis of specific targets such as migrant women (double vulnerability and planning) and marginalised or racialised subjectivities.
Dublin indicators
1. Knowledge and understanding
o Know the main pedagogical theories of gender, feminism, queer and decolonialism.
o Understand the role of educational institutions in reproducing gender inequalities.
2. Applied knowledge and understanding
o Critically analyse educational practices, curricula and learning environments from an intersectional perspective.
o Apply autoethnographic tools to investigate one's own experiences in relation to gender.
3. Autonomy of judgement
o Deconstruct gender-related stereotypes, norms and power structures.
o Develop ethical and political reflections on one's educational and professional role.
4. Communication skills
o Argue using inclusive and conscious language.
o Use multiple forms of expression (writing, visualisation, performance) to communicate experiences and analyses.
5. Learning skills
o Develop transformative and reflective learning practices.
o Integrate theory and practice through autoethnographic writing and co-research.
teacher profile teaching materials
The programme focuses on:
critical pedagogy and engaged pedagogy;
feminist, queer and decolonial theories in education;
intersectionality, performativity and the principle “the personal is political”;
critical analysis of curricula, educational practices and dominant narratives;
privilege (white, masculine and academic) and tokenism;
critical qualitative methodologies, with a focus on autoethnography, reflexive writing and co-research;
educational design aimed at social justice, antiracism and transformative practices.
2. Lavinia Bianchi e Alessandro D’Antone, Oltre l’inclusione. Pedagogia critica, tokenismo e decolonizzazione nei contesti educativi, Morcelliana, 2024.
3. Lavinia Bianchi, Il metodo autoetnografico in pedagogia. Morcelliana, 2025.
Libro a scelta:
1. Rachele Borghi, Decolonialità e privilegio: Pratiche femministe e critica al sistema-mondo,
2. Meltemi, 2020. Guillaumin, C. (2020). Sesso, razza e pratica del potere. L’idea di natura (S. Garbagnoli, V. Perilli & V. Ribeiro Corossacz, A cura di). Verona: Ombre Corte.
3. Federici, S. (2022). Caccia alle streghe e Capitale. Donne, accumulazione, riproduzione. Roma: DeriveApprodi.
4. Brigitte Vasallo, Linguaggio inclusivo ed esclusione di classe, Tamu 2023.
Programme
The course explores the theoretical and methodological foundations of gender pedagogy from critical, feminist, queer and decolonial perspectives. Particular attention is paid to power relations in educational contexts, the social construction of gender, race and class, and the analysis of privilege, marginalisation and epistemic justice.The programme focuses on:
critical pedagogy and engaged pedagogy;
feminist, queer and decolonial theories in education;
intersectionality, performativity and the principle “the personal is political”;
critical analysis of curricula, educational practices and dominant narratives;
privilege (white, masculine and academic) and tokenism;
critical qualitative methodologies, with a focus on autoethnography, reflexive writing and co-research;
educational design aimed at social justice, antiracism and transformative practices.
Core Documentation
L. Bianchi, bell hooks, Pedagogia impegnata e decoloniale, Morcelliana 2024.2. Lavinia Bianchi e Alessandro D’Antone, Oltre l’inclusione. Pedagogia critica, tokenismo e decolonizzazione nei contesti educativi, Morcelliana, 2024.
3. Lavinia Bianchi, Il metodo autoetnografico in pedagogia. Morcelliana, 2025.
Libro a scelta:
1. Rachele Borghi, Decolonialità e privilegio: Pratiche femministe e critica al sistema-mondo,
2. Meltemi, 2020. Guillaumin, C. (2020). Sesso, razza e pratica del potere. L’idea di natura (S. Garbagnoli, V. Perilli & V. Ribeiro Corossacz, A cura di). Verona: Ombre Corte.
3. Federici, S. (2022). Caccia alle streghe e Capitale. Donne, accumulazione, riproduzione. Roma: DeriveApprodi.
4. Brigitte Vasallo, Linguaggio inclusivo ed esclusione di classe, Tamu 2023.
Reference Bibliography
C. Akotirene, Intersezionalità, Capovolte, Alessandria 2022. J.L. Austin, How to Do Things with Words, second edition, ed. by J.O. Urmson - M. Sbisà, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1975 M. Baldacci, Ripensare il curricolo. Principi educativi e strategie didat¬tiche, Carocci, Roma 2006, p. 17. M.J. Bennett, Principi di comunicazione interculturale. Paradigmi e pratiche, Francoangeli, Milano 2015. H. Bhabha, I luoghi della cultura, Meltemi, Milano 2001. L. Bianchi, Un piano d’azione per la ricerca qualitativa. Epistemologia della complessità e Grounded Theory costruttivista, Franco Angeli, Milano 2019. L. Bianchi, Genere, Razza e Classe. Prospettiva engaged e intersezionalità negli albi illustrati di bell hooks, in Borruso F., Gallelli R., Seveso G., (a cura di), Le avventure della conoscenza Esclusione ed emancipazione nei percorsi educativi femminili tra storia e attualità, Unicopli, Roma 2022. L. Bianchi, Imparando a stare nel disordine. Una toeria grounded per l’accoglienza socio-educativa dei MSNA in Italia, Roma TrEPress, Roma 2019. R. Borghi, Decolonialità e privilegio. Pratiche femministe e critica al sistema-mondo, Meltemi, Milano 2020. H., Bouteldja Decolonizzare l’antirazzismo in Italia. Conversazione con Anna Curcio, in Palmi T., a cura di, Decolonizzare l’antirazzismo. Per una critica della cattiva coscienza bianca, Derive Approdi, Roma 2020, pp. 111-126. G. Burgio, Pedagogia postcoloniale, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2022. M. Catarci, La Pedagogia della liberazione di Paulo Freire. Educazione, intercultura e cambiamento sociale, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2016. K. Charmaz, Constructive Grounded Theory, Sage, London 2014. M. Cohen Emerique, Per un approccio interculturale nelle professioni educative, Erikson, Trento 2017. K. Crenshaw, Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color, Stanford Law Review, Stanford 1991, 43(6), pp. 1241–1299. A. D'Antone, L. Bianchi. (2022) Per una “linea femminile” nei servizi educativi a sostegno della famiglia e della genitorialità: il contributo di bell hooks al rapporto tra intersezionalità e presidio del setting pedagogico. Rief 20, 1: pp. 197-210. D. Demetrio, Micropedagogia. La ricerca qualitative in educazione, Raffaello Cortina Editore, Milano 2020. A. Ferguson, M.E Toye, Feminist Love Studies, Editors’Introduction, Hypatia, 32(1), pp. 5-18, 2017. M. Fiorucci, Educazione, formazione e pedagogia in prospettiva interculturale, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2020. V. Francis, I. Biemmi, I. Bolognesi, A. Pileri, V. Barbosa, Colori della pelle e differenze di genere negli albi illustrati. Ricerche e prospettive pedago¬giche, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2018. E. Gianini Belotti, Dalla Parte Delle Bambine, Feltrinelli, Milano 1978. C. Guillamin, Sesso, razza e pratica del potere. L’idea di natura, S. Garbagnoli, V. Perilli, V. Ribeiro Corossacz, Eds, Ombre corte, Milano 2020. b. hooks, Insegnare a trasgredire. L’educazione come pratica della libertà, Meltemi, Milano 2020. b. hooks, M. Nadotti, Elogio del margine-Scrivere al buio, Tamu Edizioni, Napoli 2020. b. hooks, Insegnare comunità. Una pedagogia della speranza Meltemi, Milano 2022. b. hooks, Tutto sull'amore: Nuove visioni, Il Saggiatore Edizione del Kindle, Milano 2022. b. hooks, Sentirsi a casa. Una cultura dei luoghi, Meltemi, Milano 2023. b. hooks, Insegnare il pensiero critico. Saggezza pratica, Edizione del Kindle Meltemi, Milano 2023. R. Mantegazza, Imparare a resistere. Per una pedagogia della resistenza, Mimesis, Milano 2021. J. Miller, The autobiography of the question, English Quarterly, 1995, 27 (3), pp. 22-26. T. Palmi (ed.), Decolonizzare l’antirazzismo. Per una critica della cattiva coscienza bianca, DeriveApprodi, Roma 2020. D. Ribeiro, Piccolo manuale antirazzista e femminista, Capovolte, Ales¬sandria 2022. P. Saitta, Resistenze. Pratiche e margini del conflitto quotidiano, Ombre Corte, Verona 2015. The South End Press Collective, Eds, Howard Zinn, bell hooks, Talking about a revolution. Interviews with Michael Albert, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, bell hooks, Peter Kwong, Winona LaDuke, Manning Marable, Urvashi Vaid, Howard Zinn, South End Press, Cambridge 1998. B. Vasallo, Linguaggio inclusivo ed esclusione di classe, Tamu Edizione del Kindle, Napoli 2023. H. von Foerster, Sistemi che osservano, Astrolabio, Roma 1987. N. Wa Thiong’o, Spostare il centro del mondo. La lotta per le libertà culturali, Meltemi, Roma 2000. L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, (1921), Einaudi, Torino 2009.Attendance
Attendance is strongly recommended.Type of evaluation
Assessment aims to evaluate critical thinking, reflexivity, responsible use of inclusive language, and the ability to integrate theory and situated experience.