Gemma Harasim Intellectual and Teacher

The figure of Gemma Harasim is to be seen in the specific historical, political and social context of her hometown: Fiume (now Rijeka, in the Republic of Croatia),which until 1918 was subjected to the Hungarian Crown although characterized by a multi-linguistic and multi-ethnic reality. The first essay written by Gemma is dedicated to the teaching of the Italian Language. The teaching methodology proposed by Gemma tends to develop intuitiveness and a clear linguistic form, as opposed to rhetoric and mechanical learning. Her thought developed in tune with the philosophical current of neo-idealism. She experimented with her method first at school, then in her family together with her husband, the educator Giuseppe Lombardo Radice.. Her innovations are being utilized in a lot of educational programs worldwide. Gemma has collaborated with the literary magazine La Voce and with the pedagogical journals Nuovi Doveri and L’Educazione Nazionale. She was always concerned about women's rights and committed to civic and political affairs, taking part in the Italian Resistance.