Learning outcomes

The course aims to expand students' experiential skills through the arts and through the philosophical reflection on art and creativity. Western civilization has been characterized, from the age of Greek paideia, by the attribution to art of a fundamental and indispensable educational dimension. At the end of the educational process students will have learned some fundamental questions concerning the meaning of education through art, in order to elaborate critical abilities applicable in work contexts. At the end of the course students should be able to elaborate cognitive tools that allow them to face the complexity of the pedagogical work with a critical eye and experiential sensitivity.

Program

THE ART OF PLAYING. The game of philosophy

“A free man must never learn a science like a slave. [...] No teaching that is imprinted in the soul can be stable. Dear friend, you will not have to train the youth with compulsion, but with play” (Plato, Rep., VII, 536e-537a).

The course program will be articulated around the theme of the game/play and the philo-sophical reflection on it. The main question of the course will be the following: how has thought dealt with the concept of game/play, with its experiential, practical, aesthetic and philosophical declinations? The theme of the relationship between education and game/play will be analyzed through its effects, its logics, its meanings.
1) A first section of the course includes a succinct introduction to the fundamental ques-tions of philosophy pertinent to the pedagogical context.
2) A second section will propose a brief historical-analytical journey through the questions of Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art, to allow students to become familiar with some fun-damental concepts of the discipline.
3) A third section will specifically analyze the theme of the play/game in its philosophical dimension, underlining its essential relationship with education. In this section the con-tents of the course texts will be presented.
4) Ample space will be given to dialogue and to collective discussion on the proposed themes, encouraging students to actively participate in the confrontation.

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REFERENCE TEXTS

The preparation for the exam consists of a compulsory text and one text chosen from the list below.

1) Compulsory text:

 P. A. PORCEDDU CILIONE, Tradurre la musica. Goethe e la West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Quiedit, Verona 2019 [on sell by Libreria Quiedit, Verona]

2) One text freely chosen from the list below:

 F. SCHILLER, L’educazione estetica dell’uomo, Bompiani, Milano 2007
 J. HUIZINGA, Homo ludens, Einaudi, Torino 2002
 R. CAILLOIS, I giochi e gli uomini, Bompiani, Milano 2000
 E. FINK, Oasi di gioco, Cortina, Milano 2008
 E. FINK, Per gioco, Morcelliana, Brescia 2016
 E. BENCIVENGA, Filosofia in gioco, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2013
 G. BATESON, “Questo è un gioco”, Cortina, Milano 1996

Examination Methods

The assessment of the learning outcomes involves an oral test, during which the ques-tions discussed during the course and elaborated through the study of the texts will be developed. The exam aims at ensuring knowledge of the topics under discussion, and to develop the ability to apply the concepts and logical methodologies to the various pro-posed issues.

The oral test is about the whole program and consists of an interview with the teacher and verifies:
- the depth and breadth of the knowledge gained;
- the property of language;
- the ability to connect knowledge systematically;
- analytical and argumentative ability.

The vote is expressed in marks from 0/30 to 30/30.