HISTORY OF POLITICAL DOCTRINES

The course will be an introduction to some main authors and ideas in the history of political thought.

The students will acquire knowledge of the theoretical structure of the main strands of history of political thought through the study of an author or of a topic.
They will acquire an adequate comprehension philosophical and political issues and the deepening of their specificities and also historiografical interpretations.

No previous knowledge required.

Course title: How do we change the world? Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.
The course will focus on the two figures in question and the diversity and connections of their political thought. To better understand their strategies and positions, other figures (such as Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, W. E. B. Du Bois, Angela Davis, James Baldwin) will also be covered.

Mandatory:

Malcolm X, con la collaborazione di Alex Haley, Autobiografia, (qualsiasi edizione).
Martin Luther King, I have a dream. L'autobiografia del profeta dell'uguaglianza, (qualsiasi edizione).
Gianluca Briguglia, Malcolm X - Martin Luther King. L'ape e la colomba, Einaudi Stile Libero, Torino 2024.

Recommended texts and studies that will be referred to during the course (although not the subject of the examination):
Studi:
Manning Marable, Malcolm X. Tutte le verità oltre la leggenda, Donzelli, Roma 2011.
Paolo Naso, Martin Luther King. Una storia americana, Laterza, Bari-Roma 2021.
J. Scott Holloway, Breve storia degli afroamericani, Il Mulino, Bologna 2022.

Testi:
Angela Davis, Donne, razza e classe, Alegre, Roma 2022 (1981).
James Baldwin, Una strada senza nome, Fandango, Roma 2021 (ed. or. 1972).
James Baldwin, La prossima volta il fuoco, Fandango, Roma 2020 (ed. or. 1962).
Frederick Douglass, Narrazione della vita di Frederick Douglass, uno schiavo americano, scritta da lui stesso, Marsilio, Venezia 2015 (ed. or. 1845).
William E. B. Du Bois, Le anime del popolo nero, Le Lettere, Firenze 2007 (ed. or. 1903).
Wiliam E. B. Du Bois, Sulla linea del colore. Razza e democrazia negli Stati Uniti e nel mondo, Il Mulino, Bologna 2010.
Harriet Jacobs, Vita di una ragazza schiava. Scritta da lei medesima, Feltrinelli, Milano 2023 (ed. or. 1861).
Henry D, Thoureau, Disobbedienza civile, (qualsiasi edizione).

The modality of examination consists in an oral exam, but the precise nature of the exam will be explained at the beginning of the course.

Traditional frontal teaching. However, historical films, videos, and audiovisual materials of various kinds will also be used to better contextualise and understand the figures we discuss.

Italian

oral