OVERVIEW

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.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

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.

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: t4s6g86).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

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.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

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.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ANDREA CATANZARO (President)

ALBERTO DE SANCTIS

CARLO MORGANTI (Substitute)

STEFANO PARODI (Substitute)

DAVIDE SUIN (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam will assess the ability to move critically within the material taught and to use it in reading and interpreting current political debate.

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.