Teaching code

4S007348

Teacher

Lorenzo Bernini

Coordinator

Lorenzo Bernini

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

SPS/01 - POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Period

Sem. 1B dal Nov 13, 2023 al Dec 22, 2023.

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

Western political thought has extensively concealed sexual differences behind the principle of the alleged equality of all individuals before the law. This course provides examples of critical philosophies that, on the contrary, have interrogated the relationship between politics and sexuality from the point of view of so-called ‘sexual minorities’, and have consequently developed new interpretative frames to understand the subject, collectivity, and political action.

At the end of the course, students will have to prove that they:
- accurately know the subjects of the program,
- are able to expose them in a consequential and concise way,
- have acquired independent judgement.

Prerequisites and basic notions

The course is introductory in nature and does not require any specific prerequisites.

Program

Course Title:
Tremble, Tremble! Of Witches, Zombies, Calibans, and Other Queer Monstrosities
Course Content (for attending and non-attending students):
1. The first module of the course will begin with an introduction to queer theories as critical political philosophies, distinguishing three different approaches within them: Freudian-Marxist theories of sexual liberation, constructivist theories of sexuality and gender, and antisocial queer theories. And it will then carry out an exercise of critique of the present by examining the crisis of the patriarchal and heterocissexual order currently underway.
2. The second module of the course, using a hybrid methodology drawing from Freudian-Marxism, constructivism, and antisocial theories, will examine examples of how the disruptive force of the sexual has traditionally been projected by the hegemonic subject (white, heterosexual, Western, bourgeois male) onto subaltern subjects (women, LGBTQIA+ persons, colonized and racialized persons, poor persons) in order to "monstrosify" them. The guiding question for the analysis of the texts in the program will be: can monstrosity itself, consciously assumed, serve as a point of engagement for social transformation?

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Lectures, discussions on the topics covered.
The lectures will be held in person, recorded, and will remain available for one year.
Lectures, discussions on the topics covered.
The lectures will be held in person, recorded, and will remain available for one year.

Learning assessment procedures

Both for attending and non-attending students, the exam will consist of an oral examination lasting twenty to thirty minutes. Students are required to bring the exam texts with them. The program will remain in effect for one year, covering six exam sessions (from January to September 2024).

Evaluation criteria

The following aspects will be evaluated:
- relevance of the answers,
- coherence of the arguments,
- ability to reflect personally on the proposed topics.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

To pass the exam, the student must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of each module.

Exam language

Italiano