Jane Addams’ Hull House: from educational commitment to feminist and pacifist activism

Abstract

Jane Addams – a pioneer of social education, an intellectual, and a social researcher within the marginalized contexts of Chicago – was a militant activist, feminist, and pacifist, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. Her figure embodies the intersection of educational commitment, care, and social reform (Striano, 2022). A leading figure at the first major International Congress of Women in The Hague in 1915, Addams founded Hull House in Chicago, transforming social assistance into a laboratory of
civic pedagogy where education became a tool for collective empowerment (Hamington, 2001). Her work bridges the themes of care and education, paving the way for a pedagogical vision grounded in justice, participation, and intercultural dialogue. In Addams’ thought, care takes on political and pedagogical value, an experiential knowledge that unites theory and practice, science and action, positioning women as conscious protagonists of democratic processes.