31661 - Theory and History of Public Opinion

Learning outcomes

The course analyses the genealogy of the concept of public opinion, its evolution and its transformations during modern and contemporary age from an historical-philosophical-political point of view.

Course contents

This course examines the genealogy of the concept of public opinion, its evolution and its transformations during modern and contemporary age.

In particular, the course examines the raise of public opinion during modern age, and the most important political theories (provided by Locke, the philosophes, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, etc.) about the nature, structure and critical role of public opinion and its relation with political and social institutions.

During the second part of the course, we'll analyze the social and political transformations enabled in public opinion by the process of democratization during XXth Century (we'll refer to authors like Tarde, Bentley, Bryce, Lippmann, Dewey, Arendt, Adorno and Marcuse, Debord, Habermas, Baudrillard, etc.).

Finally, we'll analyse the crisis of public opinion in the age of globalisation, the age of information and the show society age, and we'll argue on the possibility for public opinion in contemporary democracies to gain (or not) a new political role.

Readings/Bibliography

Students attending the course

Please, see the Italian version for the list of books.

Students not attending the course

Non attending students are kindly requested to meet the teacher at least once before the exam to get in touch with the program.

Teaching methods

20 two hours classes (twice a week for 10 weeks).

Assessment methods

Oral examination.

Office hours

See the website of Maria Laura Lanzillo

See the website of Thomas Casadei