Learning objectives
Knowledge and theoretical understanding of philosophical texts; logical skills and critical analysis of philosophical themes (descriptor 1). Writing of short papers, using a correct philosophical language (descriptor 2). Ability of constructing and of communicating good argumentations, learned during the couse, and of developing them autonomously (descriptors 3-4-5).
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course will be devoted to this subject: Elias Canetti, the philosophical realism of "Crowds and Power". "Masse und Macht"(1960) by Elias Canetti has been defined "an extraordinary archeology and pathogenetic anthropology of power". The effort to understand the secret of the relationship between "crowds and power" had tormented Canetti throught his life: even if he had achieved some results, he confessed, he never succeeded in solving this enigma altoghether. Canetti's book deals with ruthless realism the question of the crowds, the origins and the language of power, so much so that it appeared to some critics as a sort of 20th-century "Leviathan". To the philosophical realism of the "terrible" Hobbes, the figures of Etienne de La Boétie and Gustav Landauer seem to be an interesting counterpoint, as one can read between the lines of the dense plot of "Crowds and Power".
Full programme
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Bibliography
Elias Canetti, "Massa e potere", Adelphi, Milano, 1981; Marco Bertozzi, La cacciatrice nera: metamorfosi e sopravvivenza in "Massa e potere" di Elias Canetti, in: "I castelli di Yale online", VI, 1, 2018, pp. 111-125.
Teaching methods
The course will be in the form of lectures. The student is required to write a short essay on an assigned topic.
Assessment methods and criteria
The valuation is based on an oral exam, in which the theoretical understanding and the critical analysis of philosophical texts will be assessed. The students have to write a short paper: the valuation of the papers will be founded on the correctness of the argumentations and of the philosophical language. The oral and the written communication will be assessed and will result in the final grade.
Other information
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