Pioniere: Le donne che hanno fatto l’Europa
(Pioneers: The women who made Europe) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
The lives of ten women who helped build Europe: their desire for a union based on peace, rights, social justice, and gender equality, capable of transcending national barriers and short-sighted visions. Some were protagonists of great founding moments, others of tenacious daily work, but all were revolutionaries, lawyers, civil servants, trade unionists, and teachers. The biographies are accompanied by a few pages on the contexts in which their actions brought about significant changes, such as pacifism, women’s work, and the Erasmus program. A journey through the 20th century that leads us to the richness, but also the vulnerability, of today’s Europe.
Edited by: Centro MeTRa - Università di Bologna (Italy)
Comment:
“Pioniere” is an illustrated book that recounts the lives of ten women who “made Europe” and represents an introduction to European institutional history for young readers. It narrates the professional and political lives of figures such as Simone Weil, Ada Rossi, and Ursula Hirschmann, who participated in the drafting of the Ventotene Manifesto. The language is mostly clear and accessible. The exception is the introduction, which follows the title page and adopts a tone more suited to an adult audience, as well as the chronology, which is rather dense and didactic. The book concludes with the “Workshop” section, a detailed invitation to research. Via QR codes, it offers links to websites, information on relevant archives, writing and illustration tips, and even the publisher’s email address. This is followed by two blank pages dedicated to writing and drawing, as well as a glossary of more complex terms. Thus, “Pioniere” becomes a collaborative, participatory project, suitable for young readers as a first step towards writing and publishing. The only limitation of the book is that it presents a somewhat heteronormative view of Europe, and the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ perspective in the history of European institutions would have been an added value. That said, the desire to shed light on the role of women in the history of European institutions, the collaborative and participatory structure of the book, and the beautiful and detailed illustrations make “Pioniere” a recommended book, especially in an educational setting to introduce the history of Europe and its institutions from a gender perspective.