DisCrit and Antifascist Education: Lessons and Possibilities From Gobetti

• In Event: Spaces and Places: A Continued Exploration of DisCrit in Educational Research

Abstract

This paper presents critical reading of Ada Gobetti’s Story of Sebastiano the Rooster, Otherwise known as the Thirteenth Egg through the lens of DisCrit (Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013) and DisCrit Solidarity (Annamma & Morrison, 2018). The paper focuses on Gobetti’s lessons about the importance of educational interventions to challenge fascism–lessons that remain eerily relevant to the present socio-political moment. The contribution addresses three key themes in the text: (i) critiquing anxiety and shame of difference and disability; (ii) interrogating ableism and eugenics; and (iii) resisting the pressure for conformity. We believe that Sebastiano is a relevant educational tool for Western nations, where we currently witness similar fears of difference (e.g. sexuality, race, immigrant), within educational institutions and society.

Authors

• Valentina Migliarini, University of Birmingham

• Beth A. Ferri, Syracuse University

• Speranza Migliore, Syracuse University