The course aims at providing the necessary skills in order to grasp a text in political philosophy or theory. To this purpose, the course provides students with the necessary tools in order to:

- elaborate an appropriate historical-social contextualization of a text in political philosophy or theory;

- identify the prior philosophical streams setting up the framework of a given work in political philosophy or theory and be confident with the text’s features that make them identifiable (by focusing in particular on the traits of lexical permanence, on the recursion of argumentative methods, on shared philosophical objectives).

- pick out the original features that characterize a single work in political philosophy or theory within its philosophical tradition;

- be able to grasp the stratified character of a philosophical text and to subsequently, possibly identify its weaknesses;

- identify the weak points of a text in political philosophy or theory also concerning logical fallacies (e.g. incoherence between assumptions and consequences; begging the question; semantic vagueness);

- identify the possible weaknesses of a work in political philosophy or theory that are due to the simultaneous presence of divergent and incoherent philosophical traditions within the text (that may also stand beyond the explicit author’s purposes).

The notions of critique and of philosophy are central to Gramsci's interpretation of Marx in the Prison Notebooks. The critique describes the attitude of Marxism with respect to bourgeois civilisation, but also with respect to itself and its dogmatic stiffening. Philosophy defines the breadth of the alternative that Marxism envisages, that is, the fact that it does not intend to change certain aspects of capitalism, but the whole "way of life" and system of references that are linked to it. Critique and philosophy are also terms used by Marx: the first of them accompanies his entire path, from the youthful (1844) Introduction to the critique of Hegel's philosophy of law to the first book of The Capital (1867), whose subtitle is Critique of Political Economy. Philosophy, on the contrary, was abandoned, at least in appearance, by Marx in 1845, when, writing together with Engels a project of criìtique of the German Ideology, he argued that philosophy should be replaced by "science". Gramsci, however, did not accept to separate critique from philosophy: it is not possible, for him, to deconstruct a knowledge unless reference is made to an alternative on all levels, political and theoretical. Re-reading Marx, giving an original and new interpretation, in his Prison Notebooks Gramsci rediscovers Marx's "philosophy", and at the same time, linking critique and philosophy, affirms the absolute novelty of this philosophy, which is no longer a theoretical knowledge, a speculation, a "theory", but is a "thought" concretely engaged in the transformation of reality. The unity of critique and philosophy finally allows Gramsci to formulate a third notion, that of hegemony, which thus becomes the central axis of his Marxism. Hegemony is thinking, that is, it is ideology that has become an organised movement, an institution, and finally power: that is, hegemony is a way of thinking that has transformed the world. The theory of hegemony therefore explains on the one hand how power works, and on the other hand it is a necessary complement to the new conception of philosophy as a thought committed to the transformation of reality.

1. Antonio Gramsci: biography, personality, history of interpretations.

2. Before the Quaderni del carcere (1): the dispute on the Russian Revolution.

3. Before the Quaderni del carcere (2): the notions of "history", "historicism" and "revolution".

4. Before the Quaderni del carcere (3): Marx as "classic + romantic", "sicentist + politician"

5. The Quaderni del carcere: genesis and structure.

6. Appunti di filosofia. Prima serie

7. Appunto di filosofia. Seconda serie

8. Appunti di filosofia. Terza serie

9. Quaderni 10 and 11: Hegemony as theory of power and a theory of knowledge.

Knowledge and understanding

- Acknowledgment of the importance of the political-social context for the elaboration of philosophical theories;

- Ability to detect the peculiar features among alternative forms of philosophical argumentation within a shared philosophical, political and cultural tradition.    

 Applying knowledge and understanding

- The student will be able to master the essential theoretical and lexical tools in order to gain the ability to autonomously read and interpret a philosophical work of the contemporary age;

- The student will be able to appreciate the important role of a correct socio-historical contextualisation for an adequate understanding of the texts of the modern and contemporary age.

 Making judgements

- The student will develop an appropriate critical ability in order to identify the eventual discrepancies between single philosophical texts and their philosophical tradition;

- The student will develop an autonomous capacity in order to properly evaluate the contradictions and the weak reasoning of a philosophical argumentation.   

 Communication skills

- The student will be provided with the necessary skills in order to present to an audience, even not a specialized one, the core issues of a modern or contemporary philosophical text, by focusing in particular on the historical context, on the lexical and argumentative peculiarities within a given philosophical tradition, on the contradictions, weakness and shortcomings from a logical-argumentative point of view.

 Learning skills

- At the end of the course the student will be provided with the necessary tools for an autonomous study of a philosophical text of the modern and contemporary age;

- The student will understand the meaning and importance of the philosophical lexicon, and of extra-philosophical materials, that are essential in order to gain a deep insight of the political-cultural context of a text. This knowledge will allow the student to autonomously approach to the appropriate bibliographical researches.

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

During the course, Dr. Giorgio Grimaldi will hold a seminar on the conception of history and the State in Marx and Gramsci.

Teaching

Lectures and seminar (with active participations of the students).

Course books

Antonio Gramsci, Quaderni del carcere, edizione critica dell'Istituto Gramsci a cura di V. Gerratana, Torino, Einaudi, 1975 (and subsequent new editions). A selection of this work will be distributed by the teacher.

K. Marx, La questione ebraica e altri scritti giovanili, a cura di U. Cerroni, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 2018.

In addition, selections from other texts by Marx (Miseria della filosofia, Il capitale) will be prepared and distributed by the teacher.

Critical Literature:

a book of your choice among the following:

Antonio Gramsci, ed. by M. McNally, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015

G. Cospito, Il ritmo del pensiero. Per una lettura diacronica dei «Quaderni del carcere» di Gramsci, Napoli, Bibliopolis, 2011

G. Guzzone, Gramsci e la critica dell'economia politica, Roma, Viella, 2018

F. Izzo, Democrazia e cosmopolitismo in Antonio Gramsci, Roma, Carocci, 2009

M. Mustè, Marxismo e filosofia della praxis. Da Labriola a Gramsci, Roma, Viella, 2018

Le parole di Gramsci, a cura di F. Frosini e G. Liguori, Roma, Carocci, 2003

G. Vacca, Modernità alternative. Il Novecento di Antonio Gramsci, Torino, Einaudi, 2017.

Assessment

Oral examination (70% of the vote) and participation in the seminar (30% of the vote).

The examination consists of an oral exam. Students are required to read and comment on single passages of the two texts. Students are expected to be able to grasp the main theoretical features of the examined passages and to be able to contextualize them within the text, eventually with reference to the secondary literature.

Particular attention is given to oral exposure’s capacity through the proper terminology.

Students are expected to be able to develop a critical approach to the theories they studied. In the evaluation, particular attention will be given to the student’s ability to autonomously reformulate the materials they dealt with and to their ability to make comparisons between the authors they studied.

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

Non-attending students will replace the lesson hours (36) with a short essay (between 10,000 and 20,000 characters) based on the anthology A. Gramsci, Nel mondo grande e terribile, a cura di G. Vacca, Torino, Einaudi, 2007. The essay should contain a comparison between three texts included in the book, and belonging respectively to the period 1914-1926 and the Prison Notebooks. Examples:

1) The article Il Mezzogiorno e la guerra (1 April 1916) and the article Il socialismo e l'Italia (22 September 1917), and the text of the Quaderni Interpretazioni del Risorgimento.

2) The article Sindacati e consigli (11 October 1919) and the article Due rivoluzioni (3 July 1920) and the text of the Quaderni Lo Stato secondo la funzione produttiva delle classi

3) The article Il programma dell'Ordine Nuovo and Dalle Tesi di Lione, and the text of the Quaderni Il moderno principe.

Those that precede are mere examples: the student can propose alternative formulas, or ask the teacher for help him/her in finding further ones.

Attendance

Not attending students are required to contact the teacher well in advance of the exam date.

Course books

A. Gramsci, Nel mondo grande e terribile, a cura di G. Vacca, Torino, Einaudi, 2007

K. Marx, La questione ebraica e altri scritti giovanili, a cura di U. Cerroni, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 2018.

A book of your choice among the following:

Antonio Gramsci, ed. by M. McNally, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015

G. Cospito, Il ritmo del pensiero. Per una lettura diacronica dei «Quaderni del carcere» di Gramsci, Napoli, Bibliopolis, 2011

G. Guzzone, Gramsci e la critica dell'economia politica, Roma, Viella, 2018.

F. Izzo, Democrazia e cosmopolitismo in Antonio Gramsci, Roma, Carocci, 2009

M. Mustè, Marxismo e filosofia della praxis. Da Labriola a Gramsci, Roma, Viella, 2018

Le parole di Gramsci, a cura di F. Frosini e G. Liguori, Roma, Carocci, 2003

G. Vacca, Modernità alternative. Il Novecento di Antonio Gramsci, Torino, Einaudi, 2017.

Assessment

Oral examination (70% of the vote) and written essay (30% of the vote).

The examination consists of an oral exam. Students are required to read and comment on single passages of the two texts. Students are expected to be able to grasp the main theoretical features of the examined passages and to be able to contextualize them within the text, eventually with reference to the secondary literature.

Particular attention is given to oral exposure’s capacity through the proper terminology.

Students are expected to be able to develop a critical approach to the theories they studied. In the evaluation, particular attention will be given to the student’s ability to autonomously reformulate the materials they dealt with and to their ability to make comparisons between the authors they studied.

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.

At the student's request, the course bibliography can also be provided - and the exam taken - in English, Spanish, French and German.