A psychopedagogical tool for re-educating the social being to peace: the theatre of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Lorenza Mazzetti for Lifelong Learning

The comparative analysis examines two training projects using theatre for peace education within the historical and geopolitical context of the 1960s-1970s. In 1968, Pier Paolo Pasolini proposed the “school of linguistic re-education” for adults in his New Theatre Manifesto; in 1975 Lorenza Mazzetti published the results of empirical research on Dream Theatre conducted with the students of the S. Basilio Primary School (Rome). These educational projects deconstruct conflicts by dramatizing them, while the analysis of the thought process elicits the management of emotions, particularly violent impulses, promoting active listening and reflective thinking. Both practices are based on symmetric dialogue between educator and learner, and reciprocity within the learning community, to stimulate a transformative process, in line with the theories of Gramsci, Capitini, and Freire. It is suggested that these two practices should be combined into a training programme to develop both democratic ethos and culture of peace for contemporary social beings within Lifelong Learning.