92582 - Critical Reading Laboratory (C)

Learning outcomes

The laboratory aims to introduce students to the reading, interpretation, and critical discussion of significant texts from the tradition of political thought. Through practical exercises and collective discussions, the course is designed to develop and strengthen students’ abilities in conceptual analysis, argumentation, and oral and written communication. By the end of the laboratory, students will be able to understand, summarize, and outline the main contents of the texts studied, to situate them within their historical and theoretical context, and to critically analyze their key conceptual, methodological, and argumentative aspects. They will also be able to present and discuss their own interpretations, individually or in groups, using clear and appropriate academic language. Course materials will include classical works of political philosophy as well as essays and articles selected to foster the practice of critical reading and analysis.

Course contents

The workshop is devoted to the reading and analysis of classical and contemporary texts of particular significance in political thought. The selected texts are connected by a common thematic thread: questions of power, conflict and war, obedience and disobedience, inclusion and exclusion, as they have been formulated within the tradition of political philosophy and revisited in contemporary critical interpretations. Particular attention will also be devoted to the meaning and different forms of critique in political thought.

Through the guided reading of selected works or passages, students will be introduced to and apply techniques of textual, conceptual, and argumentative analysis. Particular attention will be paid to reconstructing the structure of the texts, identifying their main theses and the arguments supporting them, using the relevant specialist vocabulary, placing the works in their historical and theoretical contexts, analysing the ways in which the texts formulate and develop a critical perspective, and critically comparing different authors, problems, and perspectives. Students will also be guided in preparing and orally presenting the results of their analysis.

The texts will also be examined in light of feminist and postcolonial perspectives, taking into account the contexts in which the works were produced, the conceptual and genealogical relationships among the texts, and the interpretative questions they raise in the present.

Readings/Bibliography

The workshop involves the reading and analysis of selected works or passages from the texts listed below. Students are not required to read all the listed texts in full. Some materials will be examined collectively during class, while others may be selected by students, in agreement with the lecturer, for their oral presentation. Information concerning the sections to be read and the recommended editions will be provided during the workshop and through the Virtuale platform.

Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

Étienne de La Boétie, Discourse on Voluntary Servitude

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan

Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

John Locke, Second Treatise of Government

Immanuel Kant, Perpetual Peace

Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation

Carl Schmitt, The Concept of the Political

Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth

Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish

Michel Foucault, “Society Must Be Defended”

bell hooks, Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics

Nicole Loraux, The Divided City 

Further texts or supplementary materials may be suggested or agreed upon with the lecturer during the workshop. 

 

Teaching methods

The workshop combines methodological and historical-conceptual introductions by the lecturer with practical activities carried out individually and in groups.

Activities will include the guided reading and critical analysis of selected passages, the identification of key concepts and main theses, the reconstruction of argumentative strategies, the preparation of outlines and summaries, the comparison of different interpretations, and the oral presentation of the results of the analysis. A significant part of the sessions will be devoted to collective discussion and peer exchange, with guidance and feedback from the lecturer.

In this way, the workshop aims to enable students to acquire an autonomous and transferable method of reading and analysis, applicable to the study of other texts and useful both for other courses within the degree programme and for the continuation of their studies.

Assessment methods

The workshop does not include a final graded examination but leads to a pass/fail assessment. Attendance is compulsory and constitutes a necessary requirement for obtaining a pass.

Assessment will take place throughout the workshop and will take into account active participation in the exercises and collective discussions. Students will also be required to give an individual oral presentation on a text or a selected part of it, agreed upon with the lecturer.

To obtain a pass, students must demonstrate their ability to understand and summarise the selected text, identify its main theses and key argumentative steps, place it in its historical and theoretical context, and offer a well-supported critical interpretation. Clarity of presentation, appropriate use of language, the ability to organise the presentation, and relevant participation in the discussion will also be assessed.

For assessment purposes, a limited, declared, and non-substantial use of generative AI is permitted for support activities such as language revision and reformulation. Substantial use of generative AI for textual analysis, the development of the interpretation, or the preparation of the oral presentation and related materials is not permitted.

Students with specific learning disabilities and/or temporary or permanent disabilities are advised to contact the relevant University office as soon as possible so that appropriate adjustments may be proposed: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students. Any request for adjustments must be submitted to the lecturer at least fifteen days before the oral presentation or the relevant assessment activity; the lecturer will assess its appropriateness in relation to the learning outcomes of the course.

Teaching tools

Texts, presentations, outlines, and additional materials will be used during classes and practical activities; some of them will be made available through the Virtuale platform.

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Antoniol