The course, in its general part, aims to provide an overview on the major perspectives of political philosophy, from tha ancient world to the modern and contemporary times. In its special part, the course aims to propose a reflection about the construction of the political order as a naturalization of the artificial, in reference to the theme of Bio-Power and to the racist and totalitarian mythologies of identity. 

General Part
1) The crisis of contemporary political thought.
2) Movements in reaction to the crisis and new proposals of political thought.
3) The great founding paradigms of political order.
4) Crisis of the ancient polis and the Plato's thougt.
5 ) The Aristotelian paradigm of political order and its fortune over the centuries
6) Romanization and Christianization of the ancient paradigm of political order.
7) Religious conflicts in Europe and the fall of the ancient paradigm.
8) The foundation of the modern paradigm: Machiavelli and Hobbes
9) The maturity of the modern paradigm, Locke and Rousseau.
Special Part
10) The affirmation of democracy and its contradictions.
11) Towards total artificiality of social order: Marx
12) The naturalistic reaction: society as organism
13) Roots of racism
14) Naturalness of inequality: the order as separation
15) Diversity as a threat. Nationalism
16) Health and safety The Bio-power
17) Totalitarian degeneration of democracy and revolution
18) The totalitarian challenge today.

No course.

To pass the exam, students have to
a) demonstrate basic information for understanding fundamental developments of political thought in relation to the great historic transformations, with particular regard to modern and contemporary Western world; must to this end develop autonomous capacity for critical evaluation and rational analysis of political language, avoiding ideological simplifications (Knowledge and understanding);
b) demonstrate the ability to discuss theoretical problems in the fields mentioned above, even through participation in workshops and study groups and writing research papers (Applying knowledge and understanding);
c) demonstrate the ability to integrate independently their knowledge and to form judgements in the fields mentioned above, through active participation in debates with the professor and with the other students, especially during workshops and seminars (Making judgements);
d) demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly  the knowledge acquired in an essential and scientifically correct form, especially in seminaries or writing  synthetic papers (Communication skills);
e) demonstrate the ability of learning with autonomy and critical thinking, and in particular to identify links between theoretical problems and historical situations. This ability will be evaluated in the final exam (Learning skills).

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Seminars or integrative workshops will be communicated in class.

Teaching

The course will consist of lectures, possibly supplemented with audiovisual materials and courseworks.

Attendance

Students must have the normal level in general culture that can be expected at this stage of studies, particularly in regard of the knowlwdge of contemporary history and the ability to express themselves properly and clearly. If students are aware of having historical information gaps, it is strongly recommended to revise the textbook received in the last year at the high scool. In studying the textbooks, students have to understand the fundamental topics and learn how to expose them correctly with their own words.  The purely mnemonic study is not appreciated.

No previous philosophical knowledge is required.

Attendance in the class is not compulsory.

To be considered a regularly attending student, the minimum frequency at three quarters of class hours is required. 

Course books

1) The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory, by John S. Dryzek, Bonnie Honig and Anne Phillips, Oxford University Press, Oxford (UK) 2006;

2) M. Curtis, Totalitarianism, Routledge, London 1979 (first ed.)

Assessment

The exam is individual and takes place only orally. Every student can begin the exam with a topic of his choice. The knowledge of all the textbooks will be verified. The purely mnemonic study is not appreciated and does not guarantee passing the exam. The general culture level and the ability to expose correctly and clearly will affect the rating. The ability to carry out relevant personal considerations will be very appreciated.Top mark (30 cum laude) will be achieved by students that, besides not having significant gaps on the textbooks, will demonstrate critical thinking, good argumentative capacity and effectiveness of exposure.

On demand by the student, it is possible during the exam to discuss an optional paper, that must be given to the Professor at least ten days in advance. Writing the paper does not dispense from the completeness of the study and impacts positively on the final mark only if the quality is good, otherwise it will be disregarded.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

The basic learning activity for non-attending students is the individual study of textbooks. It is recommended integrating it with interviews with the Professor, by appointment, in the event of difficulties in understanding textbooks. Email contacts will suffice for the simplest matters.

Attendance

Students must have the normal level in general culture that can be expected at this stage of studies, particularly in regard of the knowlwdge of contemporary history and the ability to express themselves properly and clearly. If students are aware of having historical information gaps, it is strongly recommended to revise the textbook received in the last year at the high scool. In studying the textbooks, students have to understand the fundamental topics and learn how to expose them correctly with their own words.  The purely mnemonic study is not appreciated.

It is strongly reccomended to consult the professor for every serious difficulty of understanding the textbooks during the individual study.

Course books

1) The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory, by John S. Dryzek, Bonnie Honig and Anne Phillips, Oxford University Press, Oxford (UK) 2006;

2) M. Curtis, Totalitarianism, Routledge, London 1979 (first ed.)

3) H. Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Penguin Random House, New York 2004. 

Assessment

The exam is individual and takes place only orally.Every student can begin the exam with a topic of his choice. The knowledge of all the textbooks will be verified. The purely mnemonic study is not appreciated and does not guarantee passing the exam. The general culture level and the ability to expose correctly and clearly will affect the rating. The ability to carry out relevant personal considerations will be very appreciated.Top mark (30 cum laude) will be achieved by students that, besides not having significant gaps on the textbooks, will demonstrate critical thinking, good argumentative capacity and effectiveness of exposure.

On demand by the student, it is possible during the exam to discuss an optional paper, that must be given to the Professor at least ten days in advance. Writing the paper does not dispense from the completeness of the study and impacts positively on the final mark only if the quality is good, otherwise it will be disregarded.

To be a not attending student never has a negative impact on the final mark.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The student can request to sit the exam in english with the bibliography above.