Lorenzo Milani’s culture of peace : essays on religion, education, and democratic life

Abstract

Lorenzo Milani’s Culture of Peace foregrounds multiple ways of how this leading European critical pedagogue can inspire a postcolonial pedagogy of peace. With his Lettera ai cappellani militari (Letter to the Military Chaplains), in particular its ethical defence of the right to conscientious objection, as the main source of inspiration, the essays featured in this book offer ideas and insights into how the field of peace culture can respond to multiple and diverse realities, particularly those facing marginalized communities. Hailing from different disciplines, the authors of this impressive collection of essays pay tribute to a number of moral and ethical insights persued by Milani. Such insights, on which Milani built his pedagogical action, include: the issue of “Just War”, which he argued no longer exists; the importance of learning peace by doing peace; his militancy for justice; and the refusal to accept uncritically the core reasons for violence.