02494 - Political Philosophy

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have the necessary conceptual tools for analysing the topics of efficiency and fairness in public policies, of citizenship rights, of (universal) human rights and of global justice.

Course contents

The course will focus on Karl Marx, in an attempt to provide a reading of his work that is attentive to the main topics at stake in contemporary critical debates in political theory. Such questions as human and citizenship rights, production of subjectivity, “surplus populations,” development, and biopolitics (just to name a few) will be tested against the background of a close reading of Marx’s texts without losing track of their historicity. Particular attention will be devoted to the criticism of Marx developed within radical feminism and anti-racist theories. The course will particularly focus on the political dimension of Marx’s, thinking cutting through its work and going beyond the divide between his early philosophical work and his critique of political economy. Capital, Volume 1, will be at the center of the course. The reading and comment of selected passages from Marx’s works will be punctuated by references to classical interpretations in the history of Marxism, to more recent scholarly and political readings as well as to contemporary uses of Marx in critical debates surrounding contemporary capitalism and the transformations of politics.

Readings/Bibliography

Books required for the exam (English speaking students):

A. One of the following two:

S. Mezzadra, In the Marxian Workshops. Producing Subjects. London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.

É. Balibar, The Philosophy of Marx. London – New York: Verso, 2014.

B. K. Marx, Capital, vol.1. London: Penguin, 1976, chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

C. The Marx-Engels Reader, ed. by Robert C. Tucker, London – New York, Norton & Company, 1978 (second edition).

Further bibliographical references will be suggested during the course and may be integrated into the program. Students who are not going to attend classes may contact the professor to propose and discuss changes to the suggested reading list.

Teaching methods

Lectures will be combined with seminars, with direct involvement of students and possible participation of external guests.

Assessment methods

The exam will be oral. Students attending classes are encouraged although not required to present a paper (ca. 4000 words), to be discussed during the exam.

Teaching tools

The course presupposes a basic knowledge of the history of modern and contemporary political philosophy. Students who do not have such knowledge in their curriculum can refer to one of the following texts:

S.S. Wolin, Politics and Vision. Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 2006
C. Galli (ed), Manuale di storia del pensiero politico, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2011
A. Pandolfi (ed), Nel pensiero politico moderno, Roma, Manifestolibri, 2004

Links to further information

http://unibo.academia.edu/SandroMezzadra

Office hours

See the website of Sandro Mezzadra