The course explores the main problems of the contemporary political-philosophical debate. The object of study are the authors' analyses concerning political power, its characters, forms and protagonists.
The course explores the main problems of contemporary political-philosophical debate. At the end of the course, the student will have acquired the ability to critically interpret the debate on the most relevant aspects of politics and to infer elements of continuity and discontinuity with current affairs.
At the end of the course, the student will have acquired the ability to critically interpret the debate on the most relevant aspects of politics and to infer elements of continuity and discontinuity with current affairs.
No prerequisite coursework is required.
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: t4s6g86).
Themes, problems and authors of Contemporary Political Thought, with a particular focus on Mosca, Weber, Luxemburg, Gramsci, Potter Webb, Dewey, Weil, Kelsen, Schmitt, Morgenthau, Arendt, Aron, Wight, and Rawls.
Suggested readings
1)
- R. Gherardi (ed.), La politica e gli Stati. Problemi e figure del pensiero occidentale, Roma, Carocci Editore, 2022 (First section, chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; second section: Mosca, Weber, Luxemburg, Gramsci, Potter Webb, Dewey, Weil, Kelsen, Schmitt, Morgenthau, Arendt, Aron, Wight, Rawls).
- G. Le Bon, Psicologia delle folle.
2) One of the following texts at student’s choice:
- H. Arendt, Le origini del totalitarismo. - E. Canetti, Massa e potere. - W. Lippmann, L’opinione pubblica. - J. Ortega y Gasset, La ribellione delle masse.
3) One of the following texts at student’s choice:
- R. Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451. - A. Huxley, Il nuovo mondo. - G. Orwell, 1984. - G. Orwell, La fattoria degli animali.
4) Students not attending the course should also add this text:
- K. R. Popper, Le fonti della conoscenza e dell’ignoranza, Bologna, il Mulino, 2000.
Ricevimento: On appointment, generally on Thursday morning (9-11 am) at Albergo Dei Poveri (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche - Piazzale E. Brignole 3 a, Torre centrale - 4th floor). Otherwise on Teams (channel code: tz7ou3u) To arrange an appointment, please write to this email address: andrea.catanzaro@unige.it.
Ricevimento: By appointment.
ANDREA CATANZARO (President)
ALBERTO DE SANCTIS
CARLO MORGANTI (Substitute)
STEFANO PARODI (Substitute)
DAVIDE SUIN (Substitute)
16/09/2025
The timetable for this course is available here: EasyAcademy
Oral exam.
The exam will assess the ability to move critically within the material taught and to use it in reading and interpreting current political debate.
Students with valid certifications for Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs), disabilities or other educational needs are invited to contact the teacher and the School's contact person for disability at the beginning of teaching to agree on possible teaching arrangements that, while respecting the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning patterns. Contacts of the School's disability contact person can be found at the following link Comitato di Ateneo per l’inclusione delle studentesse e degli studenti con disabilità o con DSA | UniGe | Università di Genova
