Critical Feminist Pedagogy for the Empowerment of Active Citizenship

Feminist thought was able to outline an anti-racial speech concerning relationship, appealing to necessity of questioning about pedagogical and cultural ideas, contents and practices. It goes without saying that the top of this reflexion is just the category of education, since, with it, we intend to consider the bio-anthropological process trough which the subject learns and re-elaborates his own belonging to mankind. The theoretical framework of the paper is that of the feminist critical pedagogy. Thus we examined the theoretical and operational impacts of the thought of the scholars above on the actual Pedagogy of Difference, in the construction of alternative models applying the criteria of a different logic: a differential logic, opposed to a neutral universe, and able to save different subjects, especially feminine subject, in the name of otherness. Therefore, this article aims to inform strategies to address the complex and contradictory issue of gendered power relations in participatory planning processes for active citizenship: it has been activated by us at the Faculty of Humanities, with the approval of the Department for Rights and Equal Opportunities, a path in the promotion of culture and gender equality called "Women, Politics and institutions". The research circulation has also been possible through a permanent laboratory network “Donne, Genere e Formazione” in collaboration with: University Roma 3, University of Florence, Women’s School Education of Livorno, University of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa, Siped Research Group in Gender and Education. Methods of choice of research and intervention were the gender training methodologies that helped to develop self-reflection and knowledge of the trainees.