99679 - WORKSHOP ON CRITICAL READING

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Forli
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in International relations and diplomatic affairs (cod. 8048)

Learning outcomes

The workshop aims to introduce students to the critical reading and understanding of texts (primarily in political and social sciences), starting from the examination of significant cases. At the end of the workshop, students will have acquired the necessary skills to summarise, schematise (also in written form), contextualise and critically analyse theoretical, empirical and methodological aspects of the examined texts (volumes, journal essays, research reports, short articles).

Course contents

The workshop will engage students in the reading and analysis of newspaper articles, sectionsh of classical texts from the history of political thought and short essays of political science. All the reading material will bear on notions like power, freedom, equality and democracy, and will allow students to develop instruments to critically interpret genesis, structure and evolutions across centuriews of the ideals at issue.

Readings/Bibliography

Newspaper articles from "The Guardian" and "Washington Post" - provided by the teacher each week before the workshop session.

Short sections from the following classical books (provided by the teacher):

Machiavelli, The Prince

Charles de Montesquieu, The spirit of Laws

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The social contract

Immanuel Kant, For the Perpetual Peace

John Rawls, Political Liberalism

Texts and articles (provided by the teacher)

Cinzia Arruzza, Tithi Bhattacharya, and Nancy Fraser, Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto.

Martha Nussbaum, Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism.

Short articles in political science will be supplied in the second part of the workshop

Teaching methods

During the workshop, students will be encouraged to read, present, comment and discuss the texts and the themes addressed.

Assessment methods

Students will choose one form of evaluation:

a 10 minutes presentation of one of the recommended readings, followed by questions by the other students.

a 2000 word paper (on a topic of one's own choice)

Teaching tools

The reading materials and, occasionally, powerpoint presentations, will be provided by the teacher and uploaded in the virtual spaces.

Office hours

See the website of Elena Irrera