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B5164 - Theories and Politics of the Age of Revolutions (1) (LM)

Academic Year 2026/2027

                
                        Docente:
                        Matilde Cazzola
                    
                        Credits:
                        6
                    
                        SSD:
                        GSPS-03/A
                    
                        Language:
                        Italian
                    
                        Teaching Mode:
                        In-person learning (entirely or partially)
                        
                            Campus:
                            Bologna
                        
                            Corso:
                            Second cycle degree programme (LM) in
                            History and Oriental Studies (cod. 6813)

                                    Course Timetable
                                
from Feb 01, 2027 to Mar 12, 2027

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have mastered theoretical approaches and historical research methods of an interdisciplinary nature for the critical analysis of political concepts developed between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Using the basic tools of the history of political thought and political theory, students will have acquired the ability to read the works of authors critically and to grasp both the specificity of each text and its respective theoretical and historical framework. They will be able to critically approach texts and data and evaluate their impact on historiographical discourse; they will be able to critically engage with the theories and concepts discussed, with an awareness of the value of communication between different disciplines and the specific contribution of the historical sciences. They will be encouraged to deepen their knowledge and research methods through opportunities for discussion and learning appropriate to their abilities and inclinations. Using the tools developed by the scientific community, including digital ones, they will be able to independently consult and critically rework sources and historiographical texts in Italian or in other original languages.

Course contents

The course aims to introduce students to the theoretical and conceptual discourses of the Age of Revolution (late 18th - early 19th century) by contextualizing these discouses within the main political and institutional changes and social transformations of that age.

The course will be divided into four parts. The first part (three classes) will introduce students to the history of the Age of Revolution and its major historiographical interpretations; it will subsequently focus on ‘revolution’ as a conceptual constellation. The second part (three classes) will focus on early modern political thought as the theoretical background of the Age of Revolution; students will learn some well-known versions of contract and liberal theory that would later influence the late 18th-century revolutionary age. The third part (three classes) will outline the theoretical contributions of the three Atlantic Revolutions of the late 18th century: the American, the French, and the Haitian Revolution. By focusing on the British context, the fourth and last part (six lessons) will guide students through some of the social and political debates that agitated imperial Britain during the years marked by the war against revolutionary and Napoleonic France. These political categories will here be presented and discussed by relying on the reading of classic authors, including Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine, and analysing the radical language of social protest.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliografia per frequentanti:

- Benjamin, W., Tesi XIV e XV da Tesi sul concetto di storia [1940], in M. Löwy, Segnalatore d'incendio: Una lettura delle tesi Sul concetto di storia di Walter Benjamin, Verona, ombrecorte, 2022, pp. 119-128 (il commento di Löwy è da studiare al pari delle Tesi di Benjamin);

- Burke, E., estratti da Riflessioni sulla Rivoluzione in Francia [1790], a c. di M. Respinti, Roma, Ideazione, 1998; paragrafi 53-60 (pp. 56-62 dell’edizione di riferimento), 89-96 (pp. 81-85), 119-122 (pp. 99-102), 145, 149-150 (pp. 115-121), 349-353 (pp. 238-242) (il materiale sarà messo a disposizione su Virtuale);

- "Costituzione della colonia francese di Santo Domingo" [1801], "La Dichiarazione d’indipendenza di Haiti" [1804], e Dessalines, J.-J., "Proclama: Agli abitanti di Haiti" [1804], in L. Ravano (a c. di), La Rivoluzione haitiana: Scritti politici e giuridici (1789-1805), Verona, ombrecorte, 2020;

- La Dichiarazione d’indipendenza degli Stati Uniti d’America [1776], a c. di T. Bonazzi, Venezia, Marsilio, 1999;

- Douglass, F., "Il significato del Quattro di luglio per il popolo nero" [1852], in R. Laudani (a c. di), La libertà a ogni costo: Scritti abolizionisti afro-americani, Torino, La Rosa, 2007;

- Koselleck, R., "Historia magistra vitae: Sulla dissoluzione del topos nell’orizzonte di mobilità della storia moderna" e "Criteri storici del moderno concetto di rivoluzione", in Futuro passato: Per una semantica dei tempi storici [1979], Bologna, CLUEB, 2007;

- Marx, K., Sulla questione ebraica [1843], in B. Bauer e K. Marx, La questione ebraica, a c. di M. Tomba, Roma, Manifestolibri, 2004 (o qualsiasi altra edizione integrale);

- Marx, K., Il 18 Brumaio di Luigi Bonaparte [1852], a c. di M. Prospero, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 2022 (o qualsiasi altra edizione integrale), capitoli 1 e 7;

- Paine, T., I diritti dell’uomo (parti prima e seconda) [1791-1792], in I diritti dell’uomo e altri scritti politici, a c. di T. Magri, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 1978; nella Prima parte: pp. 119-124, 142-150, 215-219; nella Seconda parte: pp. 235-239, 268, 279-281, 286, 309-314 (il materiale sarà messo a disposizione su Virtuale);

- Sieyès, E.-J., Che cos’è il Terzo stato? [1789], in E.-J. Sieyès, Opere e testimonianze politiche. Tomo I: Scritti editi, volume primo, Milano, Giuffrè, 1993, pp. 209-216, 252-258, 275-283 (il materiale sarà messo a disposizione su Virtuale);

- Sieyès, E.-J., Preliminari della Costituzione [1789], in E.-J. Sieyès, Opere e testimonianze politiche. Tomo I: Scritti editi, volume primo, Milano, Giuffrè, 1993 (il materiale sarà messo a disposizione su Virtuale);

- Thompson, E.P., Tempo, disciplina del lavoro e capitalismo industriale [1967], in Società patrizia, cultura plebea: Otto saggi di antropologia storica sull’Inghilterra del Settecento, Torino, Einaudi, 1981.

Bibliografia per non frequentanti:

- C.A. Bayly, "Rivoluzioni convergenti, 1780-1820", in La nascita del mondo moderno, 1780-1814 [2004], Torino, Einaudi, 2009;

- Burke, E., Pensieri sulla scarsità [1795], a c. di A. Sezzi, Roma, Manifestolibri, 1997;

- Cazzola, M., e Laudani, R., Ascesa e declino della moltitudine inglese: Per una genealogia della mob, in «Filosofia politica», 3, 2020, pp. 425-442;

- La Dichiarazione d’indipendenza degli Stati Uniti d’America [1776], a c. di T. Bonazzi, Venezia, Marsilio, 1999 (da preparare anche l'Introduzione di T. Bonazzi);

- Douglass, F., "Il significato del Quattro di luglio per il popolo nero" [1852], in R. Laudani (a c. di), La libertà a ogni costo: Scritti abolizionisti afro-americani, Torino, La Rosa, 2007 (da preparare anche l'Introduzione di R. Laudani);

- Duso, G., "Fine del governo e nascita del potere", in La logica del potere: Storia concettuale come filosofia politica, Monza, Polimetrica, 2007;

- Furia, A., La cittadinanza durante la Rivoluzione francese (1789-1799), in «Scienza & Politica: Per una storia delle dottrine», 14, 27, 2002, pp. 31-49;

- Koselleck, R., "Historia magistra vitae: Sulla dissoluzione del topos nell’orizzonte di mobilità della storia moderna", "Criteri storici del moderno concetto di rivoluzione" e "Storia dei concetti e storia sociale", in Futuro passato: Per una semantica dei tempi storici [1979], Bologna, CLUEB, 2007;

- Laudani, R., Mare e terra: Sui fondamenti spaziali della sovranità moderna, in «Filosofia politica», 3, 2015, pp. 513-530;

- Marx, K., Sulla questione ebraica [1843], in B. Bauer e K. Marx, La questione ebraica, a c. di M. Tomba, Roma, Manifestolibri, 2004 (o qualsiasi altra edizione integrale);

- Marx, K., Il 18 Brumaio di Luigi Bonaparte [1852], a c. di M. Prospero, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 2022 (o qualsiasi altra edizione integrale), capitoli 1 e 7;

- Paine, T., Giustizia agraria [1797], in I diritti dell’uomo e altri scritti politici, a c. di T. Magri, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 1978;

- Ricciardi, M., Rivoluzione, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2001, capitoli da 1 a 6 + capitolo 8;

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures, close reading of classic texts, and discussion in class.

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of classes are considered to be attending the course.

Students who attend the course are expected to pass an oral examination by answering questions aimed at assessing their knowledge of all topics dealt with in class as well as the readings listed in the “attending students” bibliography section. Regular attendance is important with a view to successfully passing the exam.

Students who do not attend the course and/or whose attendance is not regular are likewise expected to pass an oral examination by answering questions aimed at assessing their knowledge of all the readings listed in the “non-attending students” bibliography section.

Consistent with the learning goals of the course, the oral examination is aimed to appraise the students' knowledge of the topics dealt with in class and/or the readings listed in the bibliography. The final assessment will take into consideration the following aspects:

- knowledge of topics and authors

- quality of exposition and use of proper and scientific language

- ability to correctly interpret and comment on sources

- ability to trace connections among different texts and topics in order to build a consistent argument and by showing critical thinking

Knowledge gaps, inappropriate language, and lack of orientation within the bibliographical materials will lead to a negative assessment.

Examinations (one per month) will be held in the following months: May, June, July, October, November, and December (2027), and subsequently February, March, April, and May (2028). All examinations are open to all students (both those who attend and those who do not attend).

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) can be a useful tool to support individual study with in-depth analysis and self-assessment. Its use for generating summaries of bibliographical materials is not recommended; students are strongly encouraged to read the integral texts. Regarding learning assessment, the use of AI during exams is prohibited. Any use constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

The University policy on the use of AI can be found at the following link: https://www.unibo.it/it/ateneo/statuto-norme-strategie-bilanci/intelligenza-artificiale.

Teaching tools

During frontal lectures, the lecturer will occasionally make use of PowerPoint presentations (available on Virtuale).

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the responsible office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible for them to suggest acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (at least 15 days prior to the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess if adjustments are appropriate, taking into account the learning goals of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Matilde Cazzola