MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY 1

The course in Modern and Contemporary Philosophy should be taken after the courses in Classical Philosophy and Medieval Philosophy. The suggested sequence, however, is not mandatory but recommended, so that Modern and Contemporary Philosophy can be taken without any preparatory attendance. The current program of the teaching thematically bridges with other courses in the study plan, such as Political Philosophy, Modern and Contemporary History, and Europe as an International Actor.

The course is articulated in two modules of 6 cfu for a single exam of 12 cfu.

At the end of the course the student is expected to (1) know the key-passages in the process of self-definition of the idea of Europe in the framework of modern and contemporary Western philosophy; (2) be acquainted with the historical roots of philosophical categories that have been shaping the European identity and its relation with alterity; (3) be able of contextualize and interpret the philosophical sources that have been discussed in class, with a high degree of subject-specific terminology, historiographical cognizance, metodological awareness, and critical attitude.

The course has no specific prerequisites, besides having a good disposition for in-depth reading, textual analysis, and critical thinking.

The course is aimed at travelling through the philosophical history of the idea of Europe from late modernity to contemporaneity. On the one hand the self-understanding of the European coming-to-be is analyzed through the words of the most prominent philosophers that historically engaged with the topic, on the other hand the process of Eurocentric self-understanding is explored within its limits and antinomies from a theoretical point of view.

- Simon Glendinning, Europe: A Philosophical History, Part 1: The Promise of Modernity, Routledge, London and New York, 2021 (for module 1).

- Simon Glendinning, Europe: A Philosophical History, Part 2: Beyond Modernity, Routledge, London and New York, 2021 (for module 2).

- Shane Weller, The Idea of Europe. A Critical History, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2021 (selected passages, for both modules).


Further readings (optional):

- Biagio De Giovanni, La filosofia e l'Europa moderna, Bologna, Mulino, 2004 (selected passages in English translation).

- Catriona Seth and Rotraud von Kulessa (eds), The Idea of Europe: Enlightenment Perspectives, Texts selected and translated by Catriona Seth et al., Cambridge, Open Book Publishers, 2017 (open access: https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0123 )

The oral exam consists in (1) explaining a selection of texts from those presented in class and in the textbooks, and (2) elaborating a philosophically-informed analysis on the passage(s) under examination.

Regarding the grading scale for the oral exam: 
 A. Scores in the range of 18-22 will be assigned for: 
- Sufficient knowledge of the textbooks and related topics 
- Limited ability to use data and form independent judgments 
- Sufficient communication skills. 
B. Scores in the range of 23-26 will be assigned for: 
- Fair knowledge of the textbooks and related topics 
- Fair ability to use data and form independent judgments 
- Fair communication skills. 
C. Scores in the range of 27-30 will be assigned for: 
 - Good or excellent knowledge of the textbooks and related topics 
- Good or excellent ability to use data and form independent judgments 
- Fully appropriate communication skills. 
D. The “laude” will be awarded to students with excellent knowledge and comprehension of the textbooks and related topics.

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The course is based on reading, interpreting and discussing philosophical texts, starting with those included in the bibliography. The analysis of textual contents and philosophical concepts throughout the didactic work benefits from methodologies such as history of ideas, intellectual history, genealogy, and critical theory.

Supplementary (optional) material will be presented in class and uploaded for reference on the Moodle page of the course.

Questo insegnamento tratta argomenti connessi alla macroarea "Cooperazione internazionale" e concorre alla realizzazione dei relativi obiettivi ONU dell'Agenda 2030 per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile