Inequalities in Education, Religion, and Gender: New Insights from Ancient Greek History (InERG)

PNRR SoE 

Ministry of University and Research
Internationalization of Research Department Directorate-General for Internationalization and Communication
Office III - Internationalization of research
Mission 4, “Education and Research” - Component 2, “From Research to Business” Investment 1.2, “Funding projects presented by young researchers”

Dr Salvo is moving from the UK to Italy, University of Verona, to undertake the first interdisciplinary analysis of the cultural dynamics of religious education, gender, and social inequality in Ancient Greece. The InERG project will investigate how children learned religion throughout the Eastern Greek-speaking world from the third century BCE to the second century CE. This study will create the first comprehensive collection of primary sources on the religious education of girls and boys during this period, drawing upon a variety of material evidence (inscriptions, artefacts). It will explain how mind and gendered bodies were involved in the learning of ritual competence and how religious education transmitted cultural knowledge between generations and social groups. Novel aspects include a) the use of contemporary critical perspectives from Gender Theory, Inequality Studies, and Cognitive Science of Religion to illuminate historical data; and b) Impact activities in Universities, museums, and prisons. The results will generate insights into wider issues of gender, socio-economic inequality and cultural change, revealing aspects of cognition in the transmission of knowledge. As such they will inform current debate on diversifying the process of knowledge production, and on harnessing the power of education to achieve a better personal well-being. InERG will further Dr Salvo's professional development by equipping her with new accreditations, teaching experience, and impact expertise. Working in Verona will allow her to prepare her first monograph and compete for the Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale; she will receive training in pedagogy of ancient history, and she will gain essential experience in both University-level teaching and the development of pioneering Impact activities targeting underprivileged groups. The Host Institution will benefit from Dr Salvo’s specialist knowledge of Greek epigraphy, history of religions, and gender in antiquity, as well as from her pioneering work in contemplative pedagogies in the Humanities.