Conference Program

The complexity of contemporary socio-political challenges requires a rethinking of the hermeneutic models that convey the education-democracy binomial. This paper analyzes the ethical models that characterize two narrative paradigms of popular comic culture: the lone Superman icon and the institutional ecosystem depicted in My Hero Academia. The primary objective is to compare the axiological foundations of the values embodied by the respective heroic figures to reveal two distinct epistemic perspectives on democracy and its pedagogical implications in Civic Education. The research will be conducted through a comparative qualitative analysis of narrative content, applying a cultural critique lens to the selected texts. The thematic analysis method will be used to identify and codify ethical frameworks and action patterns. Superman will be decoded as a transcendent ethical archetype (Vogler, 2020), with specific reference to the philosophy of otherness (Levinas, Hayat & Ragazzoni, 2006) and the existentialist thought of hope (Palmitessa, 2017). My Hero Academia will, in contrast, be analysed as an expression of collective consciousness and Durkheim's structural functionalism, with particular emphasis on Merton's theory of deviance to examine the systemic criticalities of society. The investigation aims, in conclusion, to define the didactic and value implications carried out through an artifact outside the circuits of formal education and to highlight whether democratic learning should be anchored to universal and stable ideals (Superman) or to a reflective and contextual understanding of the dynamics of current reality (Horikoshi's manga), thus providing analytical tools for the formation of a conscious citizenship.