Masculinity, Industrial Education and Fascism in Egypt

Abstract

Abstract Starting from the premise that school is a ‘major site of masculinity formation’ (Connell, 1996), this article studies the construction of boyhood in the industrial schools of the Salesian mission in Egypt between 1900 and 1939. Analysis of the teaching tools and methods, and of the processes of conformity used in these schools run by Italian missionaries, reveals that they became forums for confrontation and negotiation between different models of masculinity. This article uses the case study of the Salesian schools to shed new light on the interconnections between missionary programmes, fascist imperialism and schooling strategies of the pupils and their families. Ultimately, it seeks to demonstrate how missionary schools contributed to the gendered construction of technical expertise and industrial education in Egypt.