The Best Weapon for Peace: Maria Montessori, Education, and Children's Rights

347 Pages·2021·8.985 MB·English

by  Erica Moretti

The Best Weapon for Peace
GeorGe L. Mosse series in the history of eu ro pean CuLture,
sexuaLity, and ideas
Series Editors
Steven E. Aschheim, Skye Doney, Mary Louise Roberts, and David J. Sorkin
Advisory Board
Steven E. Aschheim, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ofer Ashkenazi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Annette Becker, Université Paris– Nanterre
Skye Doney, University of Wisconsin– Madison
Dagmar Herzog, City University of New York
Ethan Katz, University of California, Berkeley
Renato Moro, Università degli Studi Roma Tre
Anson Rabinbach, Prince ton University
Mary Louise Roberts, University of Wisconsin– Madison
Joan Wallach Scott, Institute for Advanced Study
Moshe Sluhovsky, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
David J. Sorkin, Yale University
Anthony J. Steinhoff, Université du Québec à Montréal
John Tortorice, University of Wisconsin– Madison
Till van Rahden, Université de Montréal
The Best Weapon
for Peace
M aria Montessori,
t
Education, and
Children’s Rights
Erica Moretti
the University of Wisconsin Press
The University of Wisconsin Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Moretti, Erica, author.
Title: The best weapon for peace : Maria Montessori, education,
and children’s rights / Erica Moretti.
Other titles: George L. Mosse series in the history of Eu ro pean culture,
sexuality, and ideas.
Description: Madison, Wisconsin : The University of Wisconsin Press, [2021] |
Series: George L. Mosse series in the history of Eu ro pean culture, sexuality,
and ideas | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCn 2020051821 | isBn 9780299333102 (cloth)
Subjects: LCsh: Montessori, Maria, 1870–1952. | Pacifism. |
Children and peace. | Children’s rights.
Classification: LCC LB775.M8 M595 2021 | ddC 370.92 [B]— dc23
LC rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2020051821
to Ivan and Viola

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowl edgments xiii
Introduction 3
1 Peace from Within: How the Montessori Method Came About 18
2 The White Cross: Rehabilitating War- Stricken Children
to Prevent War 70
3 Ending Conflict with Education: The 1917 Peace Lectures 100
4 Montessori in Fascist Italy 125
5 Montessori’s First Public Lectures on Peace, 1932–1939 150
6 The Child as Agent of Radical Change: The Years in India 177
Conclusions: The Legacy of Montessori’s Pacifism 211
Notes 227
Bibliography 285
Index 319
vii

Illustrations
Peasant woman in a tukul in the agro romano 19
La capanna dell’Agro, drawn by Duilio Cambellotti, 1911 20
Children and huts in the agro romano 22
School hut in Concordia, with the teacher among his students 24
Sketches and notes by Duilio Cambellotti for the agro
romano schools 25
Young children at a Montessori school engage in practical
life activities 44
Two young children at a Montessori school demonstrating
practical life activities 45
Housing proj ect for working families drawn by Duilio Cambellotti 58
Housing proj ect, exterior 59
Montessori classroom in a housing proj ect 59
Interior of the Casa dei Bambini in Palidano di Gonzaga 63
Desks with seats, designed by Alessandro Marcucci, 1920s 63
Desks with seats, designed by Alessandro Marcucci, 1920s 64
Casa dei Bambini with didactic material and library, 1920s 64
Montessori classroom in the Roman countryside, 1931 65
Children at work with Montessori material, 1920s 65
ix