29610 - History of Ideas (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to integrate the various systems of thought that succeeded one another from Humanism to the Illuminism and that transformed European society into the general course of modern history. At the end of the course, students will be able to orient themselves within the main disciplines of the humanities that are relevant to the cultural history of the modern era; they will know the major epistemological turning points that have shaped European culture; they will be able to critically evaluate the processes of interaction between cultures.

Course contents

The course analyzes some aspects of the dynamics of conspiracy cultures through a diachronic perspective that starts from the classical age (the question of tyrannicides, the expedition of Sicily and the affair of the herms, the theme of the conspiracy in Rome) to then move on to the themes of Judeophobia, from the leper conspiracy in the Middle Ages to the witch trials in the modern age and to the contemporary world from the Dreyfus case to the killing of JFK

Readings/Bibliography

Attending and not attending students:

L. Canfora , Il mondo di Atene, Laterza, 2013; F. Boccasile, La congiura delle erme, on line; Statua del tirannicida Aristogitone https://archive.today/20130413030453; Luciano Canfora , Catilina. Una rivoluzione mancata, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2023; C. Ginzurg, Storia notturna, varie ed. presso Einaudi; a. Toaff, Pasque di sangue, Il Mulino 2002; C. De Michelis, il manoscritto inesistente, varie edizioni presso Marsilio; Id. La giudeofobia in Russia, Boringhieri 2001; N. L. Kleeblatt (a cura di), L'Affare Dreyfus. La storia, l'opinione, l'immagine, Boringhieri 1990; A. Silvestri, Il caso Dreyfus e la nascita dell'intellettuale moderno, Franco Angeli 2013; R. H. Cummings, Radio free Europe's "Crusade for freedom" : rallying Americans behind Cold War broadcasting, 1950-1960 Jefferson, N.C., McFarland & Co, 2010; N. Mailer , Il racconto di Oswald, Bompiani, 1995

 

Not attending students could be also study:

Constatinople imaginaire, Paris 1982; G. Agamben, Homo Sacer, Torino varie edizioni; W. Benjamin, Il capitalismo come religione, Il melangolo

Teaching methods

Teacher's lessons and seminars

Assessment methods

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

This 6 CFU course can be chosen as a part of the 12 CFU Integrated Course “History of culture and systems thought (C.I.) (LM)". If the student has the Integrated Course (12 CFU) in his/her study plan, the final grade will result from the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts (“Cultural History" (1) (LM)" and “History of Ideas (1) (LM) “).

Oral examen or Write proof.

The exam will be conducted orally and will assess the student's command of the material studied in the course. The student will be judged on his ability to summarise and critically discuss topics raised in the course, making use of the exam bibliography and the course tools provided.

The assessment will thus consider the student's:
- knowledge and understanding of the topics covered;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology

Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

 

Teaching tools

For students disadvantaged by specific pathologies or disabled, there is the possibility, by relying on the particular university structures designated for this purpose, to take online exams outside of appeal and similarly carry out office hours online.

Office hours

See the website of Fabio Martelli