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Gustavo Gozzi

Alma Mater Professor

Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna

Adjunct professor

Department of Cultural Heritage

Curriculum vitae

GOZZI Gustavo

 

Curriculum vitae

Education

At first he has studied J.Habermas' works, which he has dedicated a book to, whose title is Linguaggio, Stato, Lavoro. Jürgen Habermas: teoria e ideologia, La Nuova Italia, Firenze 1980. Afterwards he has analysed the system theory of Niklas Luhmann.
Subsequently he has studied the relation between the Welfare State and the Rechtsstaat in Germany and in Italy between the 19th and the 20th centuries. Furthermore he has analysed the problem of the crisis of the theory of the State during the age of Weimar considering above all the question of the relation between politics and constitutional law and referring particularly to the works of R.Smend. On this subject he has written the book Modelli politici e questione sociale in Italia e in Germania fra Otto e Novecento, Il Mulino, Bologna 1988. Afterwards he has worked on the constitutional theory of democracy and on the theories of fundamental rights in Germany from the Rechtsstaat to the constitutional democracy. The result of these researches is the volume Democrazia e diritti. Germania: dallo Stato di diritto alla democrazia costituzionale, Laterza, Roma-Bari 1999.
Developments in constitutionalism in postwar Europe, and more widely, the establishment of human rights from “jus gentium” to international law, are currently being investigated.

Furthermore his researches has also considered the origins of the clash of civilizations in the perspective of western political thought. Moreover he has analyzed the history and philosophy of international law in order to clarify how the international law has contributed, from modern age to present time, to develop and sustain the western colonial project towards other civilizations and cultures. 

A significant result of this research is the book Diritti e civiltà. Storia e filosofia del diritto internazionale, il Mulino, Bologna 2010 (English translation: Rights and Civilizations. A History and Philosophy of International Law, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2019).

The question of multiculturalism too in contemporary societies is a theme of his research.

Afterwards he has analyzed the history of "humanitarian intervention" since the XIX century till to the current doctrine of the "Responsibility to protect". In this perspective he has considered the relationships among humanitarian intervention, colonialism and neo-colonialism. The results of this research are expressed in the book Umano, non Umano. Intervento umanitario, colonialismo, «primavere arabe», Il Mulino, Bologna 2015 (English translation: Humanitarian Intervention, Colonialism, Islam, and Democracy. An Analysis through the Human-Nonhuman Distinction, Routledge, London and New York 2021).

Currently his research regards the relations between the colonial legacy and the Europe's building.

In 2021 he has published the book Eredità coloniale e costruzione dell'Europa. Una questione irrisolta: il «rimosso» della coscienza europea, Il Mulino, Bologna 2021.

Academic career

Currently he is Alma Mater Honorary Professor and adjunct professor in the Two Year Master in "International Cooperation on Human Rights and Intercultural Heritage" at the University of Bologna.

He has been full professor of History of political thought in Bologna University since 2000 until 2017

He has been associate professor at the University of Bologna since 1985 until 2000.

He has been researcher since 1981 until 1985.

Teaching activities

Currently he is an adjunct professor he is responsible of the course “Justice, Multiculturalism and Human Rights” in the Two Year Master in "International Cooperation on Human Rights and Intercultural Heritage".

He has been full professor of “Human Rights and History of International Law” in the Faculty of Preservation of Cultural Heritage of Bologna University.

As an associate professor he has been responsible of the course "History of political thought".

He has been professor of "Human Rights and History of International Law" in the Two Year Master "International Cooperation, Protection of Human Rights and Cultural Heritage in Mediterranean and Eurasia" in the School of Political Sciences.

He has been professor of the same teaching in the Two Year Master "Local and Global Development"in the School of Political Sciences of the University of Bologna.

Moreover he has been professor of "Multiculturalism and Cultural Relativism" in Two Year Master "Local and Global Development"in the School of Political Sciences of the University of Bologna. 

Scientific activities

Since 2015 until 2017 he has been the scientific responsible of the European Project  AMITIE CODE (Capitalizing on Development) (DCINSAED/ 2014/338-472) (www.amitiecode.eu )

Since 2014-15 until 2017-18 he has been  visiting professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Peloponnese (UoP), in Corinth, Greece.

Until the academic year 2013-2014 he has been visiting professor in the Master's Course in “Estudios Culturales Mediterraneos” by Tarragona University Rovira i Virgili.

Since 1982 until 1995 he has cooperated with the Istituto italo-germanico in Trento where he has realised many research projects.
Since 1989 until 1997 he has been many times in Germany, in particular at the Institut für Õffentliches Recht and by the Max Planck Institut für europäische Rechtsgeschichte in Frankfurt/Main in order to carry out studies and researches.

Institutional activities and academic appointments

He is member of the CIRSFID – Interdepartmental Centre of Research in History of Right, philosophy and sociology of Right and Legal Informatics in Bologna University.

He is Co-Director of the series “Democracies, Rights, Constitutions” with the Publisher Il Mulino in Bologna.

Since 2013 until 2017 he has been Director of the Master's Course in "Human Rights, Migration, Development" at the University of Bologna.

Since 2013 until 2014 he has been coordinator of the Two Year Master in "International Cooperation, Protection of Human Rights and Cultural Heritage" of the University of Bologna.

Since 1999 until 2012 he has been Director of the Master's Course in "Human Rights and Humanitarian intervention" at the University of Bologna.

Since 1994 until 2017  he has been responsible for the Convention between Bologna University and the University of Tunis El Manar.

He has been  responsible of the “Centre for the Constitutional Studies, the Cultures, the Rights and the Democracies" at the CIRSFID – Interdepartmental Centre of Research in History of Right, philosophy and sociology of Right and Legal Informatics in Bologna University.

He is has been representative of Bologna University at UNIMED (Union of the Universities of Mediterranean).

Membership of Scientific and Editorial Committees

He Co-editor in Chief of the journal "Athena. Critical Inquiries in Law, Philosophy and Globalization" - online journal of the University of  Bologna (https://athena.unibo.it)

He is member of the journal “Scienza & Politica”.

He is fellow of the Centre “Jura Gentium” – Centre of philosophy of International Law and global policy of Florence University.

He is member of the Italian Association of Historians of Political Thought.

He is member of the Council of the Interdepartmental Centre for the Sciences of Islam of Bologna University.

He is member of the Scientific Committee of the Foundation Institute Gramsci.

Awards and recognitions

The book Gustavo Gozzi, Democrazia e diritti. Germania: dallo Stato di diritto alla democrazia costituzionale, Laterza, Roma-Bari 1999 has  been recognized among "The Books of the Year of the Lawyers' Club 1999".

Other Activities

In 2019-2020 he has been professor of "Colonial Heritage, Euro-Mediterranean Relations, Migrations, Multiculturalism" at The Breyer Center for Overseas Studies in Florence - Bing Overseas Studies Program - Stanford University.