09135 - History of Political Thought (F-N)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students: - know the fundamental features of the modern and contemporary History of Political Thought, - know the main forms of political communication and understand the complex relationships between ideas and facts, - know the most important political doctrines and are able to critically analyze them in connection with the relevant cultural, institutional, historical and social context,- is able to understand the most important political and institutional changes in Western history.

Course contents

The course will address the history of political thought from the late Middle Ages to the second half of the 19th century through the diachronic analysis of the concepts of freedom, power, rights and justice. Special attention will be paid to the connection between ideas and the historical context in which they originated and developed.

The course will unfold through the reading of classic authors of political thought such as Machiavelli, More, Luther, Calvin, Bodin, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Kant, Sieyès, Constant, Madame de Staël, Tocqueville, Mill and Marx. Special attention will be paid to women's political thought through reading texts by authors such as Olympe de Gouges, Mary Wollstonecraft, Madame de Staël, Flora Tristan, and Herriet Taylor.

The course will pay particular attention to the theme of power and the evolution of the State in the modern age, to that of the relationship between politics and religion, to the theme of constitutionalism, understood as a “technique of freedom” (particularly in its various declinations in the period of the French Revolution), to the relationship between liberalism and democracy as it comes to shape from the ages of the Revolutions to the second half of the nineteenth century, and to the theme of rights and justice also with reference to the question of women's emancipation from the French Revolution to the second half of the nineteenth century.

All topics, although approached with a focus on the historical context, will nevertheless be exposed with an eye always projected to the most recent manifestations of political phenomena.

Readings/Bibliography

Students attending the course:

The program is made up of a general part and a monographic one.

1. General part:

- C. GALLI (a cura di), Il pensiero politico moderno, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017 (parts to be agreed during the lessons);

- R. GHERARDI (a cura di), La politica e gli Stati. Problemi e figure del pensiero occidentale, nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2022 (parts to be agreed during the lessons).

Wait until the first class of the course to purchase one of the two manuals.

- Other materials will be provided by the professor during the course.

2. Monographic part:

- G. SCIARA, Madame de Staël, Milano, Carocci, 2024 (Collection "Donne e Pensiero politico").

 

Students not attending the course:

1) C. GALLI (a cura di), Il pensiero politico moderno, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017 (the entire volume except chap. IX);

2) G. BEDESCHI, Storia del pensiero liberale, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2015;

3) G. SCIARA, Madame de Staël, Roma, Carocci, 2024.

The authors in both Galli's and Bedeschi's book (Locke, Montesquieu, Kant, Constant, Tocqueville, Mill, etc.) can be studied exclusively in Bedeschi's book.

Teaching methods

The course consists of 30 two-hour in-person sessions for a total of 60 hours; it focuses on the reading and conceptual analysis of classic texts by political thinkers, with the aim of providing students with the theoretical tools and vocabulary specific to the history of modern and contemporary political thought. In an effort to demonstrate that political thought is not produced solely through written texts—and that it is often the result of changes taking place in the fields of art history, architecture, urban planning, and military technology—the instructor also draws on the analysis of images and other audiovisual elements. The course consists primarily of lectures, but the instructor aims to encourage students’ active participation in classroom discussions.

Students with learning disabilities or temporary or permanent disabilities: We recommend that you contact the "Service for students with special needs" well in advance. The office will be responsible for proposing any necessary accommodations to the students concerned; however, these accommodations must be submitted for approval by the instructor at least 7 days in advance, and the instructor will evaluate their appropriateness, taking into account the course’s learning objectives.

Assessment methods

Students attending the course:

There will be two written tests during the course, one mid-course and one at the end of the course. These tests will be evaluative in nature and will serve as a means of checking individual learning against the course taken in the classroom.

Each verification will consist of six open-ended questions; the time available for each verification is 60 minutes.

Participation in the verifications is restricted to students attending class (the lecturer reserves the right to collect students' signatures to verify their participation).

If successful in both tests, students will earn an average grade and be eligible for a final test on the monograph volume. This last test, which involves a single question to be answered in a 15-minute time frame, will contribute to the final grade that will be verbalized.

Students who are absent from either of the two exams or receive a failing grade may retake the written exam during the first exam period of the summer session. In subsequent exam periods, however, students may only take the exam covering the entire syllabus, which consists of 10 questions to be completed in 100 minutes.

To be considered a regular student, you must take the entire exam (the exam covering the entire syllabus + the monographic section) by the September exam session.

The student's achievement of an organic view of the topics addressed jointly with their critical use, the demonstration of the possession of a mastery of expression and specific language will be evaluated with a grade of excellence. Possible failures in one or more of these aspects will determine a gradation in the grade, up to a negative evaluation where insufficient preparation and formative gaps are found.

Grading of the final grade, based on the correction of the written assignments, is done according to the following criteria:

- Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course and/or textbooks, limited ability to historical contextualization and exposition of theoretical arguments, and use of barely sufficient technical language: grade 18-19;
- Preparation on a fair number of topics covered in the course and/or textbooks, sufficient ability to historical contextualization and exposition of theoretical arguments, technical language mostly correct: grade 20-24;
- Preparation on a large number of topics covered in the course and/or textbooks, good or very good ability to historical contextualization and exposition of theoretical topics, good command of specific terminology: grade 25-29;

Preparation on the topics covered in the course, excellent ability in historical contextualization and exposition of theoretical arguments, excellent command of specific terminology: grade 30-30L.

Students not attending the course:

For non-attending students, the verification of learning will be composed of an exclusively oral examination. The oral examination interview will have the function of testing learning related to the institutional and monographic parts agreed with the lecturer. The oral will also allow testing the student's ability about the analysis, critique and overall control of the discipline.

The methods of testing indicated seem the most suitable both to effectively assay the student's preparation and to achieve the objective of enabling the student to understand the main problems and traditions of thought in the history of political doctrines also through the reading of classical texts.

Grading of the final grade, based on the oral interview, is based on the following criteria:

- Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course and/or textbooks, limited ability to analyze and historical contextualization, mostly correct language: grade 18-19;
- Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course and/or textbooks, sufficient ability to analyze and historical contextualization, correct language: grade 20-24;
- Preparation on a large number of topics covered in the course and/or textbooks, ability to make autonomous choices of critical analysis, no doubts about historical contextualization, complete mastery of specific terminology: grade 25-29;
- Comprehensive preparation on topics covered in the course, ability to make autonomous choices of critical analysis and ability to make connections, full mastery of specific terminology and different historical contexts, excellent ability to argue and actualize: grade 30-30L.

Teaching tools

During the course, the teacher will use not only written materials (book chapters, academic articles, and texts written for specific educational purposes) but also digital sources (images, videos, audio files, 3D reconstructions, etc.). The teacher will also provide optional quizzes to allow students to periodically and independently assess their progress from week to week. All materials will be made available on the Virtuale platform. Some supplementary video lessons on women's political thought are available on the YouTube channel "Donne e pensiero politico" ("Women and Political Thought").

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppe Sciara