28066 - History of Political Philosophy (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students acquire knowledge about specific moments and problems of modern and contemporary philosophical-political reflection, seen both as an original elaboration and as a revival of classical problems and models. Through the critical reading of texts, fundamental themes of modern and contemporary political reflection will be investigated, such as the relationship between natural law and positive law, the relationship between civil society and the state, the notion of public opinion, the definitions of freedom and equality.

Course contents

The course will be devoted to Marx and Italian Marxism and will be divided into two 30-hour modules.

The first module will focus entirely on the thought of Karl Marx. It will examine some of his best-known works—including The German Ideology, the Theses on Feuerbach, On the Jewish Question, The Manifesto of the Communist Party, and selected passages from Chapter One of Volume I of Capital—as well as the principal concepts underlying his philosophical, economic, and political thought.

Readings/Bibliography

1. Compulsory readings

- Texts commented on during lectures will be made available on the course’s Virtual Learning Environment.

- Karl Marx, The German Ideology (only Part I, titled Feuerbach) and Theses on Feuerbach (any edition)

-Karl Marx, Capital, Volume I, The Unpublished Sixth Chapter (any unabridged edition): selected passages.

- Giovanni Gentile, La filosofia di Marx. Studi critici, Edizioni della Normale, Pisa 2014 (ma anche diverse edizioni purché integrali): selected passages.

- Benedetto Croce, Materialismo storico ed economia marxistica, Laterza, Bari 1968 (ma anche diverse edizioni purché integrali): selected passages.

- Antonio Gramsci,  Selections from the Prison Notebooks, ed. and trans. by Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith, International Publishers, New York, 1971: selected passages.

2. One text of the student's choice for each section.

2.1

Mario Dal Pra, La dialettica in Marx: dagli scritti giovanili; all'Introduzione alla critica dell'economia politica, Laterza, Bari 1965;

Etienne Balibar, La filosofia di Marx, Manifestolibri, Roma 1994;

David McLellan, Marx, il Mulino, Bologna 1999;

Alberto Burgio, Il sogno di una cosa. Per Marx, Deriveapprodi, Roma 2018;

2.2

Nicola Badaloni, Carlo Muscetta, Labriola, Croce, Gentile, Laterza, Roma -Bari 1977;

Eugenio Garin, Tra due secoli. Socialismo e filosofia in Italia dopo l’Unità, De Donato, Bari 1983;

Claudio Tuozzolo, Marx possibile. Benedetto Croce teorico marxista 1896-1897, Franco Angeli, Roma 2008;

Alberto Burgio, Gramsci: il sistema in movimento, DeriveApprodi, Roma 2014;

Alberto Burgio, Un marxismo “alquanto aristocratico”. Studi su Antonio Labriola, DeriveApprodi, Roma 2023.

Non-attending students are required to replace the two optional texts listed under Sections 2.1 and 2.2 of the bibliography with the following introductory readings:
David McLellan, Marx, Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1975.
Alberto Burgio, Gramsci: The System in Motion, DeriveApprodi, Rome 2014.

 

Teaching methods

Ex cathedra lessons. During the course, efforts will be made to engage students in the discussion of the main topics covered. Critical reading and commentary of texts will also be included.

Assessment methods

Final oral exam with questions related to the required readings.

The exam is usually held in the instructor’s office: Room 5.08, Via Zamboni 38.

Exam sessions

During the academic year 2026/2027, exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: January 2026, February 2027, May 2027, april 2027, may 2027, July 2027, and September 2027.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders are entitled to special adjustments according to their condition, subject to assessment by the University Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact teachers or Department staff, but make an appointment with the Service. The Service will then determine what adjustments are specifically appropriate, and get in touch with the teacher. For more information, please visit the page:
https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

Assessment criteria and thresholds of evaluation:

30 cum laude: Excellent as to knowledge, terminology and critical expression.

30: Excellent, knowledge is complete, well articulated and correctly expressed, although with some slight faults.

27-29: Good, knowledge comprehensive and satisfactory, essentially correct expression .

24-26: Fairly good, knowledge present in significant points, but not complete and not always expressed with correctness.

21-23: Sufficient, knowledge is sometimes superficial, but the guiding general thread is included. Expression and articulation incomplete and often not appropriate

18-21:.Almost sufficient, but knowledge present only on the surface. The guiding principle is not included with continuity. The expression and articulation of the speech show important gaps.

<18: Not sufficient, knowledge absent or very incomplete, lack of guidance in discipline, expression seriously deficient. Exam failed.

Teaching tools

Some of the texts discussed during lectures will be uploaded to the course's Virtuale platform. Additional materials for individual study and further exploration will also be made available on the same platform.

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Cerrato