PHILOSOPHICAL ENGLISH

The course will provide students with tools to improve their language skills in the use of English in a philosophical context. A selection of critical texts will be provided in order to illustrate and understand the basics and strategies of advanced philosophical writing. The texts will be analysed in relation to style, morphology and semantics and will serve as a reference for practicing essay-writing. The course also aims at enhancing argumentative abilities in situations of oral presentation and discussion.

At the end of the course, students will be able to understand, analyse and discuss the texts critically. They are expected to demonstrate adequate abilities to summarise and re-elaborate them by observing the principles of philosophical and academic argumentation.

English (B2 Level)
General knowledge of Renaissance moral and political philosophy.

- Considerations on the importance and use of English in a philosophical context;
- analysis of essays and papers in their structural, stylistic and semantic organisation;
- thematic focus on the political philosophy of the Renaissance, in particular on the concepts of utopia, sovereignty and contractualism;
- writing of short essays in English;
- oral discussion on the topics covered.

A selection of texts will be provided during the course. The texts below will first be presented in their historical and cultural context and then analysed through the critical response of some contemporary scholars:

Thomas More, "Utopia" (1516);
Niccolò Machiavelli, "The Prince" (1532);
Tommaso Campanella, "The City of the Sun" (1602);
Thomas Hobbes, "Leviathan" (1651).

Students are expected to demonstrate good knowledge of commonly used rhetorical strategies and to show familiarity with the linguistic features and registers of the selected texts by analysing and discussing them in a clear and coherent way. Any written works will be taken into account for the final assessment.

Lectures will consist of a theoretical part, an analytical part and a session of discussion. PP presentations and supportive digital material will be integrated. Students are expected to complete writing activities and exercises such as abstracts and short texts.

English

Non-attending students are invited to contact the lecturer in due advance.

oral