81719 - ATLANTIC AND GLOBAL HISTORY OF MODERN POLITICAL CONCEPTS (1) (LM)

Anno Accademico 2021/2022

  • Docente: Matilde Cazzola
  • Crediti formativi: 6
  • SSD: SPS/02
  • Lingua di insegnamento: Inglese

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

At the end of the course students will acquire the fundamental methodological and theoretical tools of the so-called «Atlantic History», which redefines the spatial limits of Modern politics, considering Europe, Africa and the Americas as part of one and the same global experience. This perspective well developed in North American universities will be extended to the history of political concepts, with a special attention to antagonistic political cultures and resistance movements, but also to the colonial dimension embedded in the great classics of Modern and contemporary political thought.

Contenuti

The course focuses on the history of modern political thought, with a special emphasis on Britain and its Empire and on the spatial dimension of political and social concepts. It will be divided into four parts.

The first part (two lectures) is aimed at providing an overview of the basic theoretical tools of conceptual history.

The second part (four lectures) focuses on a redefinition of the spatial framework within which modern political concepts were forged from an Atlantic perspective. Relevant passages from classic authors such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Thomas Paine will be read and discussed.

The third part (six lectures) delves into a history of political thought "from above" by investigating the social and political reflections of a select number of prominent British imperial administrators active in North America, the Caribbean, and India between the late 18th and the late 19th centuries.

The fourth part (three lectures) explores a perspective "from below" by analyzing radical and revolutionary political discourses related to British radicalism, the Haitian Revolution, and the North American abolitionist tradition.

 

Testi/Bibliografia

Students who attend classes:

- A. Bogues and R. Laudani, "Theses for a Global History of Political Concepts" (https://aghct.org/political-concepts-thesis);

- R. Laudani, "Mare e Terra: Sui fondamenti spaziali della sovranità moderna", Filosofia politica, 3 (2015): 513-530 (English version);

- J.F. Stephen, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (1873-74) (select passages: see slides of 7 March 2022). 

Materials will be made available in the "risorse didattiche su virtuale" section of this website.

 

Students who do not attend classes:

Students whose attendance to classes is not regular should study the following works for their final exam:

- R. Koselleck, "Introduction and Prefaces to the Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe", trans. M. Richter, Contributions to the History of Concepts, 6/1 (2011): 1-37;

- R. Koselleck, "Begriffsgeschichte and Social History", in Futures Past: On the Semantics of Historical Time (1979), Cambridge (MA): MIT Press, 1985, 73-91;

- D. Armitage, The Ideological Origins of the British Empire, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004;

- J. Pitts, A Turn to Empire: The Rise of Imperial Liberalism in Britain and France, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005;

- R. Laudani, "Mare e Terra: Sui fondamenti spaziali della sovranità moderna", Filosofia politica, 3 (2015): 513-530 (English version);

- A. Bogues and R. Laudani, "Theses for a Global History of Political Concepts" (https://aghct.org/political-concepts-thesis); 

- L. Ravano, "The Borders of Citizenship in the Haitian Revolution", Political Theory, 49, 5 (2021): 717-742. 

Some materials will be made available in the "risorse didattiche su virtuale" section of this website.

 

Metodi didattici

Lectures and discussions in class.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Students are expected to pass an oral examination, with questions aimed at assessing their knowledge of the topics dealt with in class (for students who attend) and of the readings listed in the bibliography section (for both attending and non attending students). Questions will also be aimed at appraising the students' critical thinking, their exposition and language skills, and their ability to trace connections between different texts and topics in order to build their argument.

Students who attend at least 75% of the classes are considered to be attending.

 

Proper language and the ability to critically speak about the lectures and/or the readings' contents will lead to a good/excellent final grade; acceptable language and the ability to summarize the lectures and/or the readings' contents will lead to a sufficient/fair grade; insufficient language proficiency and fragmentary knowledge of the lectures and/or the readings' contents will lead to failure to pass the exam.

 

This 6 CFU course can also be selected as part of the 12 CFU Integrated Course "81861 - OCEANIC STUDIES (I.C.) (LM)". If the students select the Integrated Course (12 CFU) in their study plan, they are free to decide whether they want to take the "81719 - ATLANTIC AND GLOBAL HISTORY OF MODERN POLITICAL CONCEPTS (1) (LM)" exam or the "81722 - INDIAN OCEAN HISTORY (1) (LM)" exam first. Students will get a grade for each module (one for Indian Ocean History and another one for Atlantic and Global History of Modern Political Concepts), and the final grade for the Integrated Course will be the average of the two modules.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Matilde Cazzola