30413 - Philosophy Laboratory (1) (G.B)

Learning outcomes

The student learns to read and critically analyze philosophical texts and to write a philosophical essay.

Course contents

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Philosophy Workshop has three goals: teaching the rules of writing and composition; an introduction on how to use bibliographic tools; an introduction on how to read a philosophy classic and the creation of a short philosophical essay on said classic.

The success of Workshop is based on regular attendance of all students to all meetings. In order to be admitted to the final exam and gain a pass, therefore, students will need to have attended at least 12 of their 15 classes (24 hours of 30).

Because of several unpleasant episodes of signature falsification occurred in the last years, in case it is proved that even a single signature has not been made by the corresponding student, such student will be excluded from the final exam and will have to wait until the next year to attend the Workshop again. The same standards will hold for students submitting written exams which are totally or partially copied from previously existing paper or digital texts, or not written by themselves.

Only in case of certified impossibility to attend the Workshop students are allowed to arrange an alternative program with the corresponding teacher of the attended module. Such cases concern:

• working students who cannot obtain a specific permission to attend the Workshop. Such students must inform the Workshop's teacher at the beginning of the course and prove by a declaration of their employers the impossibility of their attendance.

• Erasmus and Overseas students. Such students must promptly provide documentary evidence to the Workshop's teracher, showing the impossibility of their attendance due to their living abroad.

Attending and not attending students of the Workshop must get as soon as possible the Philosophical writing handbook, which can be found on line on the web page of the Degree Course of Philosophy and in paper form at the Copy Shop "Centotrecento", in Via Centotrecento.

 

WORKSHOP ENROLMENT

In the 2019/20 academic year students can choose among five proposals of Philosophy Workshop (teachers' names and programs are available on the web guide of the Degree Course of Philosophy).

45 students are expected for each Workshop.

To enroll in the first or second semester Workshops, students must send, by e-mail from 20 to 25 September, 2019, their application to the chosen teacher. Each teacher will accept up to 45 requests. Excess requests and those submitted after September 25th will be redistributed based on the availability of vacancies.

 

WORKSHOP THEME

The theme of Elisabetta Scapparone's Workshop will be:

To the origins of Radical Enlightenment: the Treatise of the Three Impostors.

The course will be held in the second semester and will start on February 3rd, 2020.

Timetable:

- Monday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Room A, Via Centotrecento (during the 3rd period);

- Thursday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Room C, Via Zamboni 34 (during the 4th period).

Office hours: Prof. Scapparone office hours take place on Thursday, h. 16-17 p.m. (Department of Philosophy and Communication, Via Zamboni 38, 3rd Floor, Office 3.08).

During the first semester of lessons (October-December 2019), office hours are anticipated to Wednesday, keeping the same timetable.

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N.B.: For further clarification or query students can contact the Degree Course of Philosophy Director, prof. Annarita Angelini (annarita.angelini@unibo.it).

 

Readings/Bibliography

Trattato dei tre impostori. La vita e lo spirito del Signor Benedetto de Spinoza, a cura di S. Berti, prefazione di R.H. Popkin, Torino, Einaudi, 1994.

Further references will be provided during the first lessons of the Workshop.

Teaching methods

The work on the Treatise of the Three Impostors will be introduced by a lecture dealing with the historical and philosophical context of this book, its compositional story and its reception through the 'clandestine' channels of modern Europe. In later classes, the teacher will guide the students along the path of a reading, analysis and collective discussion of the text. Students will be required to actively participate in the workshop, presenting individual or group reports on particular aspects of the text. The schedule for these measures will be established during the first lesson.

In addition to the 20 hours in total dedicated to reading and intepreting the text, in the course are planned 10 hours dedicated to philosophical writing techniques. In this part of the course will be used as text-base the Philosophical writing handbook mentioned above.

Assessment methods

The final examination aims to appraise the attainment of the following didactic goals:

- learning the basic concepts for the composition of an essay of philosophical matter;

- learning how to read a philosophy classic, comprehending the basic princips of philosophical hermeneutics.

The examination will focus on a presentation and discussion of a short philosophical essay regarding topics and issues dealing with the philosophy classic analyzed during the Reading Workshop. The work will be evaluated as follows:

1. in terms of content;

2. in terms of the conceptual tools employed;

3. in terms of capacity and the mastery of writing.

The essay must be delivered with an advance of at least two weeks compared to the date of the application request in which the student cites his or her intention to sit for the exam. A hard bound copy will be delivered to the office of the Secretariat for Teaching Activities of the Department (2nd floor, Mrs. Simonetta Manservisi); simultaneously, students will also have to send the text of their work by email, to the address of the teacher.

Assessment criteria

Suitable: the educational objectives have been achieved.

Unsuitable: the educational objectives have not been achieved.

Teaching tools

- E-learning platform;

- Photocopies and slides supporting the class discussion.

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Scapparone