73097 - Writing Lab (1) (LM) (G. A)

Learning outcomes

Three main objectives: (1) to acquire a thorough knowledge of the structure of a philosophical essay as a preparatory work for the dissertation; (2) to know and be able to apply the standard editing rules for a scientific publication; (3) to be able to carry out an exhaustive bibliographical research on paper and digital directories, and to know how to correctly set up an essay of annotated bibliography.

Course contents

In the Writing Workshop, dedicated specifically to philosophical writing, students study the techniques of planning and writing a paper through the analysis of various types of texts, representative of the themes and styles of the different philosophical disciplines, with practical exercises on texts under the guidance of the professor.

The workshop, divided into four sessions, aims to introduce students to philosophical, critical and scientific writing through: (a) an introduction aimed at highlighting the constitutive problematics of the relationship between philosophical practice and written elaboration; (b) a theoretical part, dedicated to illustrating the constituent elements and the multiple morphology of the argumentative text of a philosophical nature; (c) the reading of essays characteristic of different genres and philosophical stylistic features, on which written exercises will be carried out aimed at grasping their structural peculiarities; (d) autonomous creation of a short essay starting from texts agreed with the professor.

At the end of the workshop the student is more familiar with the techniques of philosophical text writing, is able to analyse and explain the logical and expressive structure of significant examples, and possesses the necessary tools for composing an argumentative text of a philosophical nature.

The course will be held in the second term, starting on 8 November 2021, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1pm to 3pm (Aula VII, via Zamboni 38).

Readings/Bibliography

(i) Conceptual-theoretical section:

- Adorno, T.W., Terminologia filosofica, tr. it. A. Solmi, Einaudi, Torino, 2007.

- Sini, C., Etica della scrittura, Il Saggiatore, Milano, 1992 (disponibile anche presso Mimesis, 2009).

 

(ii) Practical section:

- Dell'Aversano, C. e Grilli, A., La scrittura argomentativa. Dal saggio breve alla tesi di dottorato, Le Monnier, Firenze, 2005.

- Eco, U., Come si fa una tesi di laurea: le materie umanistiche, Bompiani, 2013.

- Santambrogio, M., Manuale di scrittura (non creativa), Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2006.

The essays on which the exercises will be carried out will be provided during the workshop.

The texts on which the students attending the workshop will have to make an oral presentation and a written paper for the exam will be agreed with the professor during the course.

Teaching methods

The first part of the workshop - sessions (a) and (b) - will consist of some frontal lectures given by the professor. The second part - session (c) - will consist of classroom exercises, during which students will analyse philosophical essays and produce short written texts under the guidance of the professor. In the third part - session (d) - students will make a presentation (oral, with the support of slides) on texts agreed with the professor at the beginning of the course. The subject of the presentation will be further developed and deepened in a written paper, which the student will discuss during the exam (the paper must be sent to the professor at least two weeks before the exam).

Assessment methods

For students attending the course

The examination consists of:

(1) the discussion of a text of your choice from the bibliographical section (i)

(2) the production of a written paper on a topic agreed with the professor during the course, which will be discussed during the exam (the paper must be sent at least two weeks before the exam).

The examination is designed to assess the achievement of the training objectives. The aim of the exam is therefore to verify that the student has acquired the ability to produce an argumentative text of a philosophical nature, handling the fundamental tools of philosophical writing.

The student will be assessed as suitable and the test will be considered passed if the written text produced has the typical characteristics of a philosophical argumentative text, as well as being grammatically and syntactically correct.

The student will be considered unsuccessful if the text contains serious conceptual, grammatical or syntactical errors and does not have the characteristics of an argumentative philosophical text.

 

For students non attending the course

The examination consists of:

(1) the discussion of a text of your choice from the bibliographical section (i) and a text of your choice from section (ii)

(2) the production of a written paper on a topic agreed with the professor that will be discussed during the exam (the topic must be agreed with the professor in advance and the paper must be sent at least two weeks before the exam).

The examination is designed to assess the achievement of the training objectives. The aim of the exam is therefore to verify that the student has acquired the ability to produce an argumentative text of a philosophical nature, handling the fundamental tools of philosophical writing.

The student will be assessed as suitable and the test will be considered passed if the written text produced has the typical characteristics of a philosophical argumentative text, as well as being grammatically and syntactically correct.

The student will be considered unsuccessful if the text contains serious conceptual, grammatical or syntactical errors and does not have the characteristics of an argumentative philosophical text.

Teaching tools

During the workshop, the professor will use Powerpoint slides, as well as photocopies and computer tools for the exercises.

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Cavalleri