“Ignorant teachers” and incompetent citizens. A research and didactic path for high schools, between the history of the unitary state, the history of women and the history of Vicenza in the second half of the nineteenth century

Abstract

The present work combines historical research and experimental teaching. It is the result of a project conducted in an Italian high school. The project was carried out by the students and its aim is to investigate the history of two educational institutes for elementary school teachers in Vicenza, in the second half of the 19th century, at the time of the Italian Unification. The students’ research stems from in-class analysis, led by the teacher, regarding the main aspects of the Italian “Risorgimento”: the separation of Church and State, the education of the masses, the public role of female elementary teachers. The present work is experimental in that it is not only based on well-known sources, but the students were also invited to research and examine unpublished local sources. Furthermore, it re-examines the already existing interpretations of the “Risorgimento” in light of the recent results of Women’s and Gender Studies.