28164 - Seminar (1) (2nd cycle)

Learning outcomes

Didattica di tipo seminariale volta a introdurre gli studenti alla ricerca più avanzata, con l'obiettivo di approfondire temi e metodi nell'ambito dei settori disciplinari del corso di studi.

Course contents

The seminar examines democracy through the dual meaning of “emergence”: as both the manifestation of new political forms and the crisis of existing institutions. It considers democracy not only as a formal system of rules, offices and procedures, but also as a network of mutual recognition, shared responsibilities and cultural inheritances. Particular attention is devoted to the tensions between equality and merit, individual fulfilment and collective solidarity, bottom-up communities and institutionalised forms of representation. The seminar also addresses the historical variability of democratic models and the transformations introduced by technological mediation, digital platforms and artificial intelligence. A central question concerns the conditions under which collective knowledge, civic agency and shared responsibility can still be produced rather than delegated to computational systems. The rhetoric and practice of participation will be critically examined, especially where inclusion remains asymmetrical or merely serves to stabilise existing structures. The seminar will investigate both the erosion of democratic practices and the unexpected emergence of new forms of civic mobilisation, dissent and collective thought. It will also analyse how democracy is legitimised, contested and reimagined through discourse, institutional devices and forms of social mediation. Rather than treating democracy as a stable or unified model, the seminar approaches it as a fragile, historically situated and continuously renegotiated way of producing a common world.

Readings/Bibliography

Agamben, Giorgio (2003), Lo stato di eccezione, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri.

Bobbio, Norberto (1985), Stato, Governo, Società, Torino, Einaudi.

Bobbio, Norberto (1995), Eguaglianza e libertà, Torino, Einaudi.

Bonazzi, Mauro (2017), Atene, la città inquieta, Torino, Einaudi.

Butti de Lima, Paulo (2012), Archeologia della politica. Letture della Repubblica di Platone, Milano, Mimesis.

Butti de Lima, Paulo (2019), Democrazia. L'invenzione degli antichi e l'uso dei moderni, Firenze, Le Monnier.

Canfora, Luciano (2004), Democrazia. Storia di un'ideologia, Roma-Bari, Laterza.

Castoriadis, Cornelius (1998), L’enigma del soggetto. L'immaginario e le istituzioni, Bari, Dedalo.

Derrida, Jacques (1994), Politiche dell’amicizia. Milano, Jaca Book.

Descombes, Vincent (2007), Le raisonnement de l’ours et autres essais de philosophie pratique, Paris, Seuil.

Eco, Umberto (1983), Sette anni di desiderio, Milano, Bompiani.

Esposito, Roberto (2002), Immunitas, Torino, Einaudi.

Esposito, Roberto (2020), Il pensiero istituente. Tre paradigmi di ontologia politica, Torino, Einaudi.

Esposito, Roberto (2023), Vitam instituere. Genealogia dell'istituzione, Torino, Einaudi.

Fontanille, Jacques (2021), Ensemble. Pour une anthropologie sémiotique du politique, Liège, PULg, Coll. « Sigilla ».

Habermas, Jürgen (1992), Faktizität und Geltung. Beiträge zur Diskurstheorie des Rechts und des demokratischen Rechtsstaates, Frankfurt, Suhrkamp ; trad. it. Fatti e norme. Contributi a una teoria discorsiva del diritto e della democrazia, Milano, Guerini, 1996.

Habermas, Jürgen (1996), “Über den internen Zusammenhang von Rechtsstaat und Demokratie”, in Id., Die Einbeziehung des Anderen, Frankfurt, Suhrkamp, 1996, p. 293-305; tr. it., “Il nesso interno tra stato di diritto e democrazia”, in Id., L’inclusione dell’altro. Studi di teoria politica, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1998, pp. 249-259.

Hoang, Lê Nguyên & Fourquet Jean-Lou (2024), La Dictature des Algorithmes. Une transition numérique démocratique est possible, Paris, Tallandier.

Jouvenel, Bertrand de (1976), Les Débuts de l’État moderne, Paris, Fayard.

Latour, Bruno (2017), Où atterrir ?: Comment s'orienter en politique, Paris, La Découverte.

Latour, Bruno & Schultz, Nicolaj (2022), Mémo sur la nouvelle classe écologique, Paris, La Découverte ; trad. it. Facciamoci sentire! Manifesto per una nuova ecologia, Torino, Einaudi, 2023.

Luhmann, Niklas (1971), « Komplexität und Demokratie », in Id. Politische Planung, Opladen. pp. 35-45 ; trad. it. in Stato di diritto e sistema sociale, Napoli, Guida, 1978, pp. 65-83.

Lyotard, Jean-François (1979), La condition postmoderne, Paris, Éditions du Minuit ; trad. it. La condizione postmoderna. Rapporto sul sapere, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2014.

Morin, Edgar (2020), Fraternità: perché? Resistere alla crudeltà del mondo, Roma, AVE.

Nancy, Jean-Luc (2020), “Demosofia”, Philosophy World Democracy, https://www.philosophy-world-democracy.org/articles-1/demosofia-italian

Rancière, Jacques (2005), La Haine de la démocratie, Paris, La Fabrique.

Rodotà, Stefano (2019), Vivere la democrazia, Roma-Bari, Laterza.

Stiegler, Bernard (2016), Dans la disruption. Comment ne pas devenir fou ?, Paris, Les Liens qui Libèrent.

Tönnies, Ferdinand (1887), Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Lipsia, Fues’s Verlag; trad. it. Comunità e società, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2011.

Virno, Paolo (2002), Grammatica della moltitudine. Per un'analisi delle forme di vita contemporanee, Roma, DeriveApprodi.

Zuboff, Shoshana (2019), The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, London, Profile Books ; trad. it. Il capitalismo della sorveglianza, Roma, Luiss University Press, 2019.

Teaching methods

Active participation in the seminar’s plenary discussions.

Assessment methods

For students attending the seminar, assessment will be based on a written paper of at least 15,000 characters, including spaces, presenting, discussing and comparing at least three different contributions to the seminar. Students will also be required to give a brief oral presentation of their paper.

Teaching tools

Any documents relating to the scheduled presentations will be made available on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Pierluigi Basso