OVERVIEW

The course presents the outlines of the History of Political Thought from Ancient times to the state being contemporary. The analysis of the most remarkable authors on political power, its characteristics and forms will be examined in depth. They will be studied through a historical and problematic contextualization. Therefore, the history of the debate on politics will be reconstructed by stressing its links to the socio-political contexts and its ideological implications.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims at allowing student to know and comprehend the crucial elements of the History of Political Thought in the period that spans from the Ancient times till the 20th century, through the contextualization and the analysis of the more significant theories

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims at allowing student to know and comprehend the crucial elements of the History of Political Thought in the period that spans from the Ancient times till the 20th century, through the contextualization and the analysis of the more significant theories.

PREREQUISITES

No prerequisite coursework is required.

TEACHING METHODS

The teaching involves 54 hours (equivalent to 9 CFUs).

The course will be held in a blended mode, i.e., in-person, but with concurrent lecture delivery via the Teams platform (code: a1pzufj).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

- Politics in ancient Greece

- Socrates

- Plato

-  Aristotle

- Polybius, Cicero

- Religion and politics: Christianity

-  Augustine of Hippo

- Thomas Aquinas

- Dante, Marsilius

- Machiavelli

- Bodin, Suarez

- Hobbes

- Spinoza

- Locke

- Vico

- Montesquieu

- Rousseau

- Hume, Smith

- The Federalist Papers

- Burke

- Kant

- Hegel

- Saint-Simon

- Constant

- Tocqueville

- Mazzini

- Proudhon

- Marx, Engels

- Stuart Mill

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Suggested readings

I. 

- M. D’ADDIO, Storia delle dottrine politiche, Genova, ECIG, 2002.

II. A book at student’s choice from this list:

- PLATO, Crito (any edition)

- DANTE ALIGHIERI, De Monarchia (any edition)

- É. DE LA BOÉTIE, Discourse on Voluntary Servitude (any edition)

- J.-J. ROUSSEAU, The Social Contract (any edition)

- A. de TOCQUEVILLE, The Old Regime and the Revolution (any edition)

III. Students who do not attend the course must study one of these supplementary texts:

- A. ARIENZO - S. DE LUCA (a cura di), Protego ergo obligo. Ordine, sicurezza e legittimazione nella storia del pensiero politico, Pisa, Edizioni ETS, 2019.

- C. MORGANTI, Comunità e Stato, Europa e Occidente. La politica secondo Guardini, Firenze, Centro Editoriale Toscano, 2016.

- F. FALCHI, Giuseppe Mazzini: la democrazia europea e i diritti delle donne, Firenze, Centro Editoriale Toscano, 2011. 

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ANDREA CATANZARO (President)

ALBERTO DE SANCTIS

ARIANNA BETTIN (Substitute)

MARIA ANTONIETTA FALCHI (Substitute)

CARLO MORGANTI (Substitute)

STEFANO PARODI (Substitute)

DAVIDE SUIN (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

14th September 2026

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam is aimed at assessing the acquired skills by the student in analysing political ideas and political theories from a critical perspective and in using them in comprehending contemporary world politics.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students with disabilities or other special educational needs are advised to contact both the Prof. Aristide Canepa (aristide.canepa@unige.it), and the lecturer at the beginning of the course, to agree on the teaching methods and examinations that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools.

To request compensatory tools or dispensatory measures, students with disabilities or SLD must fill in the dedicated Webform available at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa, at least 7 working days before the exam.
Students with SEN may instead send their request by e-mail to the lecturer, copying the Department Representative, Prof. Aristide Canepa (aristide.canepa@unige.it) and the Inclusion Office (inclusione.studenti@info.unige.it).
Requests from students will be assessed by the lecturer and may be approved or rejected.