Reinventing Freire in the Italian context. The case of his honorary degree at the University of Bologna

ABSTRACT

This paper provides a critical analysis of Freire’s Italian reception and argues that reinventing Freire requires us to historicise and to contextualise his legacy, which in Italy makes sense in consonance with the already existing Italian popular education tradition. Based on the case study of his 1989 honorary degree at the University of Bologna, this article investigates Freire’s influence in academia by comparing two generations of scholars and activists who have received Freire in different ways. Drawing on interviews to key informants who belong to two generations of educators influenced by Freire, this paper argues that the Italian Freire’s renaissance is associated with the growing need for a generation of militant educators to find a theoretical framework to oppose the hegemony of both neo-liberal and neo-nationalist discourses in education. The reasons for Freire’s reinvention in the academic sphere are investigated and the profile of the second generation of Freireans in Italy traced out, highlighting both continuities and tensions with the first one. Finally, the motives for Freire’s success in today’s Italy are presented in seven main theses, showing that many of them are made possible by virtue of the political, cultural and pedagogical background that made Freire’s re-invention in an Italian context possible.

KEYWORDS:

• Freire
• Italy
• critical pedagogy
• popular education
• university of Bologna

Acknowledgements

In addition to the key informant interviewed for this article who provided not only detailed information but also unmeasurably rich stimuli and insights, it is essential to also acknowledge other colleagues, including Silvio Premoli, Mirella D’Ascenzo, Marcella Milana, Peter Mayo and Carlos Alberto Torres, for insightful discussion on the role of Freire in Italy. This work would not have been possible without the valuable support of the University of Bologna central library and especially the librarian of the library of the Department of Sciences of Education ‘Mario Gattullo’ Marco Morassutti.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Roberto Farnè, Antonio Genovese and Fausto Telleri retired from University of Bologna, Piergiorgio Reggio, Catholic University of Milan, Marco Catarci, University of Roma tre, Alessandro Tolomelli, University of Bologna, Davide Zoletto, University of Udine, Paolo Vittoria, University of Federico II, Neapolis. In writing this article, besides my review of the literature I draw upon the information provided by the above-mentioned scholars on the basis of a list of open-ended questions about their experience and opinions on the role that Freire has played in Italian pedagogical arena. The responses were thoughtful and detailed and I used them as a background of my argument. I made reference to them only when I report a precise statement, even if rephrased. While the contribution of key informants was extremely valuable, I am solely responsible for any errors or inaccuracies in the text.

2 Transcript from the video taken during the group interview with teachers and educators held in Bologna 23/01/1989 available on https://youtu.be/5DDtNhvDCIE