AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main objective of the course is to provide specific knowledge and tools to understand the most important aspects of the history of education: events, objects, images and stories preserve traces of the past. The course will focus on the main theories of the history of education and will provide methodological indications on the research, analysis and interpretation of sources. Finally, a particular attention will be paid to the analysis of women’s issues and gender education.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main objectives of the course are to develop students’ understanding and knowledge of the history of pedagogy, education, and schooling. The course aims to provide a critical understanding of the historical processes that have shaped education, childhood, and the school as central domains in the construction of individual and collective identities. Through the analysis of educational, normative, and narrative sources, the course will explore how representations of childhood, educational practices, and school institutions have contributed to defining forms of belonging, social roles, and models of citizenship. The course seeks to equip students with critical tools to interpret education not merely as the transmission of knowledge, but as a space of symbolic production and identity negotiation, where cultural and social dynamics of each historical period are reflected and transformed.

TEACHING METHODS

Classes are held in person with the instructor, who integrates various participatory approaches and methods, including group activities, project work, and seminar-based discussions.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course explores, from a historical perspective, the role of education and schooling in the construction of individual and collective identities. Particular attention will be given to the ways in which educational institutions have contributed to defining categories such as gender, cultural belonging, otherness, and citizenship. The aim is to provide students with analytical tools to interpret education not only as the transmission of knowledge, but as a symbolic and cultural device through which social dynamics are reflected, reproduced, and sometimes transformed.

The program will be structured around the following thematic areas:

- Educational models and practices of normalization: a study of pedagogical practices and disciplinary mechanisms that, in different historical periods, contributed to shaping norms, roles, and expectations related to class, gender, and culture;

- School curricula, textbooks, and identity: a comparative investigation of educational content and its role in the production of identity narratives, with particular attention to themes such as nationhood, religion, gender, and diversity;

- Narrative and memory in education: the use of autobiographical sources (diaries, memoirs, letters, autobiographies) to explore educational experiences and processes of subject formation in the modern and contemporary eras;

- Spaces and times of formal and informal education: a reflection on the interactions between school, family, media, children’s literature, and other contexts of socialization within educational processes.

The course includes lectures, seminar discussions, and practical exercises on historical sources and educational materials, with the goal of developing critical and methodological skills for analyzing educational processes and their cultural implications.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

- A. Antoniazzi, M. Lucenti (eds.), Tra storia e storie. Rappresentazioni di genere, Edizioni Junior, 2019
- M. Lucenti, Storie altre. Il mondo arabo-musulmano e l'occidente nei manuali di Italia e Tunisia, Aracne, 2018

Non-attending students, in addition to the main syllabus, are required to prepare the following texts and academic articles for the exam:

- M. Lucenti (ed.), Ripensare gli anni Ottanta e Novanta. Infanzie e adolescenze in divenire, Genova University Press, 2021
- Lucenti, M., Mamone, G. (2024). Flying to conquer. The aeronautical pedagogy in narratives for children in Italy (1911–1945). Journal of Transport History, 0(0), https://doi.org/10.1177/00225266241293626 
- Lucenti, M. (2023). L'educazione alla pace nei programmi e manuali scolastici di Religious Education in Inghilterra (1970–2020). MeTis – Mondi educativi. Temi, indagini, suggestioni, vol.13, n.1, 369–392, https://www.metisjournal.it/index.php/metis/article/view/583

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

February 2026. 

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The final exam is oral and involves a critical and interactive discussion of the topics and themes addressed in the course. Students who attend the course will complete a midterm theoretical-practical assessment.

Upon request, the exam may be conducted in English, French, or Spanish, subject to prior agreement on a suitable reading list in the chosen language.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Assessment of the knowledge acquired through the study of the texts listed in the syllabus and the materials provided on the AulaWeb platform will be based on the following criteria:

- understanding of the topics;
- ability to analyze and synthesize;
- command of language;
- use of appropriate and specific terminology;
- ability to critically elaborate on the content and demonstrate original interpretation.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Any change in the usual teaching activities (classes and office hours) will be reported in the AulaWeb page of the Course. On the AulaWeb page, all the information relating to the organization and carrying out of the course activities will be detailed.

OTHER INFORMATION

STUDENTS FROM ABROAD

Students from abroad are invited to contact the teacher in order to clarify and agree on the aspects relating to the didactic organization, preparation and methods of conducting the exams.

FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES OR WITH SPECIFIC LEARNING DISORDERS (SLD):

Students with disabilities or SLD are reminded that in order to request adaptations for exams, they must first upload their certification on the University’s website at servizionline.unige.it in the “Students” section. The documentation will be verified by the University’s Services for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and SLD (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).

Subsequently, well in advance (at least 10 days) of the exam date, an email must be sent to the professor with whom the exam will be taken, copying both the School’s Referent for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and SLD (laura.traverso@unige.it) and the above-mentioned Sector using one of the following addresses (disabili@unige.it; dsa@unige.it). The email must specify:

- the name of the course;
- the date of the exam;
- the student’s surname, name, and matriculation number;
- the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and requested.

The referent (Prof. Laura Traverso) will confirm to the professor that the applicant has the right to request adaptations for the exam and that such adaptations must be agreed upon with the professor. The professor will respond by communicating whether it is possible to use the requested adaptations.

Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the exam date in order to allow the professor to evaluate their content. In particular, if you intend to use concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for study) if the sending does not respect the established times, there will not be the necessary technical time to make any changes, which could be requested by the professor.

For further information on the request for services and adaptations, consult the document: Linee guida per la richiesta di servizi, di strumenti compensativi e/o di misure dispensative e di ausili specifici

It is recommended to contact the Professor in order to clarify and agree on aspects related to the organization of teaching, preparation, and the way the exam is conducted.