Ars docendi 2
Vorwort – premessa – Foreword [Adami]
“Despite the seriousness of the health situation in Italy, Europe and worldwide, as a humanist association we urge all those involved to do everything possible and reasonable to avoid unnecessary isolation and division. The coronavirus must be contained and combated, but we must make a serious commitment not to allow Europe to fall into a state of fragmentation, which we humanists want to avoid. From now on, we must commit ourselves to finding the right remedies to heal the damage caused by this crisis to our common civilisation. Let us use these difficult times well to rediscover ourselves in an open humanitarian attitude that prepares us for a new take-off of a sense of civil unity. Let us learn from this crisis that only together can we face the problems of the future, which will not be easy to solve! The idea of a Humanitatis Symposium will guide us."
Rainer Weissengruber made this appeal to all of us a few days ago. Day after day, the virus and its circumstances make us realise the abyss into which our civilisation risks falling. In Austria, for example, politicians have imposed a total ban on going out for walks (only dogs can be taken out), while in South Tyrol, the well-known gynaecologist Herbert Heidegger explained how doctors are organising themselves in the event of a shortage of breathing apparatus. First, doctors will take care of doctors and paramedics, obviously, because they are more important than others, as they save lives. Then law enforcement officers will be treated – obviously, otherwise our civilisation will probably not survive. I don't want to know how long we teachers and men of culture would have had to wait – I don't want to imagine it. O tempora, o mores! We must take action against a civilisation, against the mass media that have the audacity to present us as superhuman and subhuman. I would not want to live in a society where there are different rights for different people. But I would also not want to live in a society that forces me to stay at home for weeks on end.
Freedom or security – a well-known doctor from Bolzano raised this dilemma. In 2020, we are no longer able to guarantee either one. I dream of a society in which everyone has the same individual rights, a society that sooner or later understands that a “est modus in rebus” is needed. We cannot just grow and grow financially and economically without looking anywhere else. We have just experienced the consequences of such behaviour.
The second issue of Ars docendi deals in part with the impact of coronavirus on schools and education. We will present some fascinating examples of teaching in times of crisis, but there will also be other articles, an essay on a wonderful project called “Donne contro” (Women Against), a very interesting essay on Ovid's Metamorphoses, a compelling methodological proposal on ‘somnium Scipionis’ and hypertext, as well as a first review (we would like to expand this small section, if you like it) and a description of a very interesting website.
We hope you enjoy reading this issue and invite you all to send us your essays/articles for the next issue.
Martina Adami