Learning objectives
About the knowledge and understanding (Descriptor 1 = knowledge e understanding), at the end of the course the student he must have acquired the fundamental knowledge of the major authors and major works of the history of political thought.
About the knowledge and the ability to applied understanding (Descriptor 2 = applying knowledge and understanding), the student through an educational path based on method of the Socratic lesson / heuristic must have acquired that capacity for understanding and analysis of the issues addressed in class that the allow you to develop your own critical thinking on the issues dealt with in the lessons relating to some of the major ideas developed within the history of political thought.
About the autonomy of judgment (Descriptor 3 = making judgments) students both during and in particular at the end of the course they must have acquired the ability to autonomously analyze the major arguments tackled in teaching in order to be able to relate to them in a critical way.
With respect to communication skills (Descriptor 4 = communication skills) through the methods of method of the heuristic / Socratic lesson the student will have to acquire a satisfactory property expressive both at a terminological and conceptual level aimed at exposing the themes dealt with in the teaching in an autonomous way.
About the ability to learn (Descriptor 5 = learning skills) students will have acquired those bibliographic and linguistic-lexical tools as well as concepts that will allow them to autonomously develop a critical reflection on the problems dealt with in the teaching. The student must also have acquired the ability to autonomously develop their own thoughts on teaching topics and express it in a documented way to the teacher and colleagues.
Course unit content
During the lessons, some of the main authors who have characterized the history of Western political thought will be explored in depth, with particular attention to ancient Greek and Roman political culture.
Starting from their ancient origins, some of the main political concepts that have developed within Western political thought such as polis, res publica, city, society, democracy, peace, freedom, equality, fairness, natural law, care will be explored in depth.
Full programme
I L'antichità greca e romana: Il pensiero politico greco, Solone, Erodoto; Democrazia, oligarchia, tirannide; Legge e natura; Tucidide; Senofonte; Platone; Aristotele; L'ellenismo; Roma; Polibio; Cicerone.
II Cristianesimo e politica: Agostino; Tommaso d'Aquino; I Comuni.
III Gli inizi della politica moderna: L'umanesimo politico; Machiavelli.
IV La Riforma: Erasmo; Lutero; Calvino.
V Costituzione, rivoluzione, repubblica e utopia: La rivoluzione e Cromwell; Moro; L'utopia in Europa.
VI La prima modernità: Bodin; Althusius.
VII Il soggetto e lo Stato: Hobbes; Locke; Spinoza.
VIII L'Antico regime e l'Illuminismo: Montesquieu; Il diritto naturale: Grozio e Pufendorf; I concetti dell'Illuminismo; La politica e i Lumi; La tolleranza; L'illuminismo scozzese: Hume, Smith, Ferguson; La rivoluzione americana: la Costituzione federale.
IX Ragione e rivoluzione: Rousseau; La rivoluzione; Sieyes; Kant.
X La dialettica: Fichte; Hegel.
XI L'ordine dopo la rivoluzione: I controrivoluzionari: Burke; Liberalismo e positivismo in Francia: Constant.
XII Società e nazione: La questione sociale; Marx; Tocqueville; John Stuart Mill; La questione nazionale: Giuseppe Mazzini.
XIII La crisi dell'ordine politico moderno: Nietzsche; Weber; Gli elitisti: Mosca; Pareto; Michels; I totalitarismi; I pensatori radicali della crisi: Schmitt; Kelsen; Le critiche filosofiche della modernità: Arendt; Weil.
Bibliography
Reference Books:
▪︎ C. Galli (ed.), Manuale di storia del pensiero politico, THIRD EDITION, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2011. (I PART Cap. I Parag. 5-12, 14-15; Cap. II Parag. 2, 8, 11; II PART Cap. III Parag. 1, 2; Cap. IV Parag. 1, 2, 4; Cap. V Parag. 4, 10, 11; Cap. VI Parag. 4, 5; III PART Cap. VII Parag. 1, 2, 3, 4; Cap. VIII Parag. 2, 4; 5, 6, 7, 11, 12; Cap. IX Parag. 1, 2, 3, 6; IV PART Cap. X Parag. 1, 2; Cap. XI Parag. 1.1, 2.1; Cap. XII Parag. 1, 2, 3, 4, 6; V PART Cap. XIII Parag. 1, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13.1.3, 13.2). [Note: the subparagraphs within the indicated paragraphs must be studied; where instead subparagraphs are specifically indicated, those must be studied and that's it as in Chapter XI and Chapter XIII].
▪︎ C. Galli (ed.), I grandi testi del pensiero politico. Antologia, Seconda Edizione, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2011 (SELECTED PAGES will be read during the lessons and indicated on the Syllabus or Elly platform).
Read a book of your choice among these:
▪︎ C. Galli, Ideologia, il Mulino, Bologna, 2022.
▪︎ L. Scuccimarra, Proteggere l'umanità. Sovranità e diritti umani nell'epoca globale, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2016.
▪︎ F. Tuccari, La rivolta della società, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2020.
Video and text resources uploaded to Elly.
Teaching methods
The teaching activities will be conducted through the method of the frontal lesson /presentation and the method of the lesson Heuristic/ Socratic; a sequential type of expositive teaching (with steps of knowledge) will be alternated with a hypothetical or heuristic teaching based on questions/ stimulus. This mode of teaching aims to promote in the students the autonomous research of meaning on the topics of the frontal lessons. With the use of the Simulation/Role playing and Cooperative Learning methods, we will try to involve the students actively in the construction of the lesson.
Assessment methods and criteria
Written exam with 5 open questions about the topics of the lessons, the reference books and about the material uploaded to Elly. Time for the exam 2 hours.
Other information
GET THE REFERENCE BOOKS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO HAVE THEM IN THE CLASSROOM DURING THE LESSONS AS A PRIMARY TEACHING TOOL. All students must register immediately on the page dedicated to teaching on the Elly platform. Synthetic teaching materials will be uploaded and made available to students on the teaching page on the Elly platform.
