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Maura Gancitano
Founder

Maura Gancitano

Philosopher, pedagogue and writer. Co-founder of Tlon, she works on gender equality, emotional education, digital public spaces, communication and cultural planning.

Mazara del Vallo, 1985 Philosophical Director, Festival del Pensare Contemporaneo Premio Rapallo 2022

Biography

I

Maura Gancitano is a philosopher, pedagogue and writer. She holds a degree in political philosophy from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan and a master's degree in Pedagogical Sciences and Educational Planning from the University of Foggia, with a thesis in Philosophy of Education titled "The narrative device between constraint and possibility. Critical genealogy and micropedagogical perspectives on contemporary subjectivation processes". In 2015 she founded Tlon together with Andrea Colamedici, with whom she curates the column "Prendila con Filosofia" for Vanity Fair.

She has collaborated with La Repubblica, La Stampa, Linus, Radio 1, Radio 24 and Radio Freccia. She was included by Vanity Fair Italy, France and Spain in the "Generation Future" list, among the artists, activists and pioneers shaping the future of Europe, and in StartUpItalia's Unstoppable Women list, the 150 women to follow in the world of innovation in Italy.

Her books have been translated into eight languages. With the essay Specchio delle mie brame. La prigione della bellezza (Einaudi 2022) she won the Premio Rapallo, ex aequo with Bianca Pitzorno. She has given talks at Italian and international universities, including Politecnico di Milano, IED Milano, Università Cattolica, Bicocca, Roma Tre, LUISS, University of Trento, Perugia and Columbia University.

Books

II
Individual works
2024
Erotica dei sentimentiFor a New Emotional Education
Einaudi
2024
Perché studiare filosofia (non) è noiosoWhy Studying Philosophy Is (Not) Boring
Mondadori
2022
Specchio delle mie brameThe Prison of BeautyPremio Rapallo 2022
Einaudi
With Andrea Colamedici
2025
Botanica della meravigliaBotany of Wonder
HarperCollins
2023
Ma chi me lo fa fare?How Work Has Deceived Us: The End of the Spell
HarperCollins
2022
Il gioco del pensieroThe Game of Thought
Zanichelli
2021
L'alba dei nuovi dèiFrom Plato to Big Data
Mondadori
2021
Prendila con filosofiaA Manual for Personal Flourishing
HarperCollins
2019
Liberati della brava bambinaEight Stories to Flourish
HarperCollins
2018
La società della performanceHow to Escape the Cave
Tlon
2017
Lezioni di meravigliaJourneys Between Philosophy and Imagination
Tlon
2016
Tu non sei DioPhenomenology of Contemporary Spirituality
Tlon

Translations

III
Botanica della meraviglia
Spanish (forthcoming), French (forthcoming)
Specchio delle mie brame
Spanish, Chinese, Chinese (Taiwan), Portuguese, Korean, Romanian, French (forthcoming)
Liberati della brava bambina
Chinese, Korean
Prendila con filosofia
Chinese, Spanish, Polish, Korean
Perché studiare filosofia (non) è noioso
Spanish
La società della performance
Chinese (forthcoming)
Ma chi me lo fa fare?
Chinese (forthcoming)

Podcasts

IV
Scuola di Filosofie
Audible · with Andrea Colamedici
A journey in two seasons through the great thinkers of the twentieth century, from phenomenology to existentialism, from philosophy of mind to critical theory, to apply their insights to everyday life.
Pensare Europeo
European Parliament · with Andrea Colamedici
A series of conversations designed to strengthen the sense of belonging to the European community, connecting MEPs with philosophers, activists, historians and Italian artists.
Meno per meno
RaiPlaySound · with Niccolò Fabi
Ten episodes that start from the songs chosen by Niccolò Fabi to celebrate his 25 years of career, transforming the lyrics into sparks for addressing disparate themes.
Tlon – Il podcast
All platforms
Interviews, conversations and contributions from Tlon events and festivals, to stay updated on the project's initiatives and discover the themes of philosophical outreach.

Teaching and Lectures

V
Prompt Thinking – IED Roma2022–present
From Writing to Digital: The Crack We Inhabit – University of Foggia (with Andrea Colamedici)2021–2022
Masterclass on Gender Stereotypes – University of Messina / Taobuk2025
Transversal Skills Course – University of Bari2025
Seminar Social Emotional Learning and Teacher Training – University of Verona2025
Seminar Wellbeing: Contexts and Trajectories of a Generative Framework – University of Padova (Rovigo campus)2025
Spring School Philosophy and Digital Transformation – University of Udine2023, 2024
Conference Women and Science – CNR Genoa2024
Conference Gender Cultures – IULM Milan2024
ICS Exchange Conference, keynote on Prompt Thinking – University of Foggia2024
Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Tourism – University of Oristano2024
How Natural Is Artificial Intelligence? – Circolo dei Lettori, Turin with SIpEIA2023
Workshop Human Sustainability: Overcoming the Performance Society and Imagining New Models – University of Padova2023

Scientific Committees

VI
Fondazione WoWScientific Director
Fondazione Lotus by Elisa Toffoli
United Network
geniaLAB at AANT
Rizzoli Education
Intrecci series – Firenze University Press (with University of Siena)
International Conference Visual Education / ASTERA – University of Foggia

Artistic Direction

VII
Festival del Pensare Contemporaneo in PiacenzaPhilosophical Director
Festa della Filosofia at the Triennale in Milan and RomeCreator
ilPod – Italian Podcast AwardsCreator

Publications

VIII
Journal Articles
Educating the Gaze in the Age of Saturation. Visual Education, Generative AI and Critical Learning Strategies (with Andrea Colamedici) – Astrea 2025 Proceedings, Il Capoverso2025
Artificial Philosophizing: Threat or Opportunity for Thought? – Mondo Digitale2025
Beyond the Tyranny of Urgency: Toward a New Culture of Time – in The Values of Science Between Ethics, Imaginaries and Careers. Proceedings of the 2024 Women and Science Conference, University of Genoaforthcoming
A Human-Centric Revolution. How Artificial Intelligence Is Redefining Work and Human Interaction – Harvard Business Review Italia2024
Women and Science Conference Proceedings2024
Cultural Hegemony or Cancel Culture? – Vita e Pensiero2023
Nuovi Argomenti n. 41 (Not Yet Thirty)
Nuovi Argomenti n. 77
Contributions to Collective Volumes
Sustainability and Sustainable Development. A Transdisciplinary Reading – UTET2025
Words Are a Swarm of Bees – Sperling & Kupfer2025
Franco Battiato. The Music of Time – Oblomov2025
It's the Thought That Counts – AA.VV., IlSole24ore2025
A Year of Stories 2024 – Treccani2023
Which Essay Did You Choose – UTET2023
Now It's Our Turn – Fondazione Terra Santa2022
Out of Time. Starting Again from Nature – Biennale Donna Ferrara2022
Reinhabiting the World – Quodlibet2021
I Say I – Silvana Editoriale for the Galleria Nazionale2021
Prefaces and Afterwords
Dance Me to the End of the World. 30 Performative Exercises in Corvetto by Sotterraneo – Il Saggiatore2025
Measuring the Leap of Frogs by Gabriele Di Luca – Cue Press2025
If I Sleep with Glasses On, Do I See Dreams Better? by Claude Ponti – Babalibri2025
Mor. A Story for My Mothers by Serena Garagnani – ADD Editore2024
The Extra Love by Élisabeth Badinter – Tlon2024
Intrepid by Laura Donadoni – HarperCollins2023
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf – Tlon2022
The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley – HarperCollins2021
Love Is a Symptom by Leonardo Mendolicchio – Tlon2021
Heroines by Marina Pierri – Tlon2020
Mirror
Premio Rapallo 2022

Mirror, Mirror

The Prison of Beauty

A philosophical investigation into the tyranny of beauty and the relationship between body, identity and power. A book that has crossed Italian borders, translated into seven languages, and which won the Premio Rapallo 2022 ex aequo with Bianca Pitzorno.

Why do we feel never enough? Why has women's bodies become a battlefield? Maura Gancitano explores the cultural and philosophical roots of a contemporary obsession, offering tools to break free from it.

✦Premio Rapallo 2022
Buy the book

"The female body has become the place where a game is played that never really concerns women, but the power of those who look at them."

— Specchio delle mie brame
International Translations
SpanishChineseChinese (Taiwan)PortugueseKoreanRomanianFrench (forthcoming)