Conference Program

This contribution proposes a pedagogical analysis of the process involved in the creation of a fanzine produced by a group of students enrolled in the Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Sciences at the end of the course Environmental Pedagogy, held at the Department of Human Sciences for Education “Riccardo Massa” at the University of Milano-Bicocca. In this context, the fanzine is conceived as a tool for reflection and expression through which students can rework their learning experiences and articulate their own perspectives. At the same time, it is understood as a method for producing counter-narratives around ecological issues, with particular attention to outdoor education and biodiversity, approached from a gender-sensitive perspective. Historically rooted in grassroots cultural practices, fanzines have functioned as spaces for the circulation of alternative knowledge, often giving voice to marginalized groups and subcultures. In this sense, the fanzine becomes both an individual and collective device of visibility and expression. The possibility of combining different expressive languages—such as collage, personal and borrowed writings, sketches, and textures—transforms the page into an experimental aesthetic space where students can explore composition, balance, and style.

The creation process unfolds through several phases in which individual productions are progressively reworked through overlaps with others’ contributions, the transformation of proportions, and the selection of paper types, formats, and colors. In this layered process, the collective narrative gradually takes shape. Elements often considered imperfections—such as errors, distortions, or unexpected results—are instead valued as meaningful components of the creative process, contributing to the aesthetic and expressive richness of the final artifact. Through printed reproductions and the superimposition of visual layers, graphic experimentation allows for shifts in perspective and the emergence of a stratified narrative. From a pedagogical perspective, the creation of a fanzine can therefore be understood as a practice that fosters democratic participation, relational learning, and education to consent, while dynamically negotiating the tensions between ethics and aesthetics, the individual and the collective, and the personal and the political.