Homelessness and mass cultures: a challenge for inclusion.

Homelessness is a complex phenomenon that intertwines a dimension of housing dep rivation with one of social distress1. Through a review of the existing literature, this article analyses its multidimensionality and multifaceted nature, with particular attention to Italian studies of the pedagogy of marginality1. In particular, it highlights how the phenomenon, precisely because of its multifaceted nature, requires systemic, intersectional, and multidisciplinary interpretations; any investigation that does not consider this multifaceted nature risks providing incomplete interpretations and furthering dynamics of exclusion1. In parallel, the contribution examines the role of mass culture in shaping public perception of social phenomena – including homelessness – and the risks of simplification and omogenisation to which it can potentially and uncritically lead2. In conclusion, it suggests the opportunity for pedagogical sciences, precisely in taking up the challenge of complexity raised by homelessness, to adopt sensitivities typical of the Capability Approach, with particular reference to the concept of human dignity, that is, the right of each individual, in their uniqueness, to a dignified life, determined not only by the absence of material deprivation but also by the possibility of developing their potential and pursuing a meaningful life.