Teaching code

4S008178

Teacher

Alessandro Stavru

Coordinatore

Alessandro Stavru

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

M-FIL/07 - HISTORY OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY

Period

Sem. 2A dal Feb 13, 2023 al Mar 30, 2023.

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars

Learning objectives

Knowledge and understanding 1. To know and understand the structural relation between the character of Socrates and the practice of maieutic dialogue. 2. To know and understand the pedagogical relevance of the classical "paideia", in particular the how it is described and practiced by Socrates in the Platonic dialogues and in the Socratic literature. 3. Knowing and understanding several fundamental elements of the Socratic dialogue: the search for meaning, irony, refutation, paradox, the exhortation to self-care and to the value of life within the "polis". Applying knowledge and understanding 1. Understanding the theoretical meaning of the Socratic dialogue in the contemporary ways of communication, focusing on issues of both continuity and discontinuity ad to the problems involved. 2. Rethinking and reformulating the educational dialogue, as a commonly understood today, in the light of the Socratic practice of dialogue, as presented in the Platonic dialogues and in the Socratic literature. 3. Rethinking the professional profile and lifestyle of the educator and pedagogist by looking at the way Socrates thinks and acts in the Platonic dialogues and the Socratic literature.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Surely a previous knowledge of the history of the ancient and mediaeval philosophy allows to work easier within this scientific field: however it is not compulsory. The same can be said as to the ancient Greek and Latin languages. More important is a careful lexical research and an interest in a critical reading of philosophical texts.

Program

Title and content of the course: "Paideia and the Socratic dialogue".
The course tackles the educational strategies implied in the Socratic dialogue (questioning, examination, refutation, care of the self, irony, maieutics, logic, and dialectics) in the first-generation Socratics (especially in Plato, but also in Aristippus, Aeschines, Phaedo, and Xenophon). We will investigate the lines of continuity and discontinuity between the dialogue practiced by Socrates and the Greek notion of Paideia, with particular reference not only to the life of the Athenian polis, but also to the reception and application of the Socratic dialogue in contemporary educational practices such as the Philosophy for Children, the Cooperative Learning and the Problem-Based Learning.
The course will provide a shared reading of dialogical units drawn from Socratic literature: students will be involved in discussing the positions held by the characters in the text and, where possible, in applying the educational tenets of the Socratic dialogue to concrete situations.
TEXTS TO BE READ FOR THE ORAL EXAM:
A) L. Napolitano, Il dialogo socratico, Milano, Mimesis 2018 (the student will choose one modern author in the first part of the book; the second part of the book should be read entirely).
B) Course reserve:
1. Dialogical units of the first-generation Socratics Aristippus, Aeschines, Phaedo, and Xenophon.
2. W. Jaeger, chapter on 'Socrates' included in Id., Paideia, vol. III (Bompiani, Milano 2003).
3. L. Mortari, Conoscere se stessi per aver cura di sé, in: "Studi sulla formazione," 2 (2008), pp. 45-58.
The course reserve is available both on the Moodle page and at the copy shop ateneo æmme edizioni, Lungadige Porta Vittoria, 37.
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
Non-attending students will bring the same texts as attending students, except for the volume by L. Napolitano "Il dialogo socratico," which will be read in its entirety.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The teaching is carried out in frontal mode. The lessons are made available via streaming (Zoom links are available on the Moodle page of the course). Recordings are placed on the Moodle at the end of each lesson.

Learning assessment procedures

Teaching method: The course will be held in accordance with the provisions on COVID-19 issued by the University of Verona. The course includes lessons and seminars in which texts will be read and discussed. Attendance is therefore useful, but not mandatory. Given the unpredictability of the health emergency, lessons will be recorded via panopto/e-learning/zoom and uploaded on the Moodle platform. In case of specific provisions issued by the University of Verona, these lessons may eventually replace the teaching in presence.

Office hour: Throughout the academic year, the instructor is available either in his room, or via e-mail, or via Zoom/Skype.

Evaluation method: The student will be interviewed orally or via Zoom (depending on the developments of the health emergency). Students can choose a topic from which they can start their exam (such choice must be communicated to the teacher by e-mail at least one week before the date of the exam).

Evaluation criteria

Ability to organize and articulate the acquired knowledge; critical reasoning on the topics of the course; quality, depth and coherence of the exposition, competence in the use of terminology and expressions rerlated to ancient philosophy.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The evaluation is expressed in a grade out of thirty.

Exam language

Italiano