Teaching Workshop: Philosophy Workshop 4
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
- riconoscere un testo scientifico da uno di altra natura, sviluppando competenze di ricerca bibliografica, per esempio utilizzando Google Scholar.
- avere una buona dimestichezza con l'offerta editoriale web, in cui la capacità di discernimento è necessaria per destreggiarsi tra fake news e imparare a eseguire processi fondamentali di fact checking.
- essere in grado di muoversi con agio e contezza nei database informatici e sviluppare competenze di base che fondamentali nelle professioni di ambito culturale, ma anche in contesti come redazioni giornalistiche, ONG, agenzie stampa.
- implementare le soft skills; nello specifico, verranno testate e sviluppate competenze trasversali di pensiero critico, lavoro di squadra, abilità analitiche, la cui spendibilità è oggi conditio sine qua non per relazionarsi nel mondo del lavoro.
- avere una buona dimestichezza con l'offerta editoriale web, in cui la capacità di discernimento è necessaria per destreggiarsi tra fake news e imparare a eseguire processi fondamentali di fact checking.
- essere in grado di muoversi con agio e contezza nei database informatici e sviluppare competenze di base che fondamentali nelle professioni di ambito culturale, ma anche in contesti come redazioni giornalistiche, ONG, agenzie stampa.
- implementare le soft skills; nello specifico, verranno testate e sviluppate competenze trasversali di pensiero critico, lavoro di squadra, abilità analitiche, la cui spendibilità è oggi conditio sine qua non per relazionarsi nel mondo del lavoro.
Expected learning outcomes
The workshop aims to develop the following skills:
Critical thinking skills:
By the end of the workshop, students will display a sufficiently independent critical approach in selecting and interpreting the notions that are most relevant their area of study and to the broader socio-cultural context in which they operate
Communication skills:
By the end of the workshop:
- students will be able to effectively communicate the acquired knowledge and disseminate it to the general public;
- student will have developed basic IT skills concerning knowledge preservation and transfer.
Learning skills:
By the end of the workshop, students will have developed the learning skills required to continue their studies in keeping with their own research interests. In order to meet this objective, students will also develop relevant skills in the independent interpretation of sources and in the use of basic IT tool for bibliographic research.
Critical thinking skills:
By the end of the workshop, students will display a sufficiently independent critical approach in selecting and interpreting the notions that are most relevant their area of study and to the broader socio-cultural context in which they operate
Communication skills:
By the end of the workshop:
- students will be able to effectively communicate the acquired knowledge and disseminate it to the general public;
- student will have developed basic IT skills concerning knowledge preservation and transfer.
Learning skills:
By the end of the workshop, students will have developed the learning skills required to continue their studies in keeping with their own research interests. In order to meet this objective, students will also develop relevant skills in the independent interpretation of sources and in the use of basic IT tool for bibliographic research.
Lesson period: First semester
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Workshop n. 4 - Political Philosophy and Citizenship
Module: "Professional Development Workshop"
Title: Democracy and Conflict
This workshop explores the theme of social conflict through the lens of political philosophy, highlighting its central role in the development of Western political thought. Starting from classical theoretical frameworks, we will examine how conflict has been understood, interpreted, and integrated into different models of political organization.
A key focus will be the relationship between democracy and conflict. Through the analysis of significant 20th-century theoretical contributions, we will address pressing questions such as:
· How has social conflict evolved in the aftermath of the so-called "end of ideologies"?
· What happens to political conflict when traditional class antagonisms lose prominence?
· Can democracy exist without conflict?
· On which axes—cultural, economic, identitarian, or related to recognition—do conflicts manifest in contemporary democratic societies?
The course will unfold in three main stages:
· Foundations: We will begin with a critical examination of the theoretical models proposed by Aristotle, Hobbes, and Machiavelli, highlighting their differing conceptions of conflict and political order.
· The Machiavellian Paradigm and Marx: We will then delve into Machiavelli's understanding of the productive potential of conflict, tracing its influence on Karl Marx, with particular attention to the Communist Manifesto and its legacy.
· 20th-Century Reinterpretations: Finally, we will investigate how modern and contemporary thinkers have challenged, revised, or reasserted Marxian theories, especially in relation to the dynamics of conflict within democratic systems.
The aim of the workshop is not only to provide theoretical tools to understand the nature and function of social conflict, but also to encourage critical reflection on its role in shaping democratic life today.
Module "Bibliographical Research and Writing a Scientific Philosophical Text"
-Methodologies, techniques and tools of bibliographic research.
-Writing a scientific philosophical text
Schedule of meetings:
Friday 31/10/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
Friday 07/11/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
Friday 14/11/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
Friday 21/11/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
Friday 28/11/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
To attend this workshop make pre-registration as indicated in the Workshops section of the Philosophy website:
https://filosofia.cdl.unimi.it/it/insegnamenti/laboratori
Module: "Professional Development Workshop"
Title: Democracy and Conflict
This workshop explores the theme of social conflict through the lens of political philosophy, highlighting its central role in the development of Western political thought. Starting from classical theoretical frameworks, we will examine how conflict has been understood, interpreted, and integrated into different models of political organization.
A key focus will be the relationship between democracy and conflict. Through the analysis of significant 20th-century theoretical contributions, we will address pressing questions such as:
· How has social conflict evolved in the aftermath of the so-called "end of ideologies"?
· What happens to political conflict when traditional class antagonisms lose prominence?
· Can democracy exist without conflict?
· On which axes—cultural, economic, identitarian, or related to recognition—do conflicts manifest in contemporary democratic societies?
The course will unfold in three main stages:
· Foundations: We will begin with a critical examination of the theoretical models proposed by Aristotle, Hobbes, and Machiavelli, highlighting their differing conceptions of conflict and political order.
· The Machiavellian Paradigm and Marx: We will then delve into Machiavelli's understanding of the productive potential of conflict, tracing its influence on Karl Marx, with particular attention to the Communist Manifesto and its legacy.
· 20th-Century Reinterpretations: Finally, we will investigate how modern and contemporary thinkers have challenged, revised, or reasserted Marxian theories, especially in relation to the dynamics of conflict within democratic systems.
The aim of the workshop is not only to provide theoretical tools to understand the nature and function of social conflict, but also to encourage critical reflection on its role in shaping democratic life today.
Module "Bibliographical Research and Writing a Scientific Philosophical Text"
-Methodologies, techniques and tools of bibliographic research.
-Writing a scientific philosophical text
Schedule of meetings:
Friday 31/10/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
Friday 07/11/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
Friday 14/11/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
Friday 21/11/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
Friday 28/11/2025, 14:30-18:30 Aula 515 - Festa Del Perdono
To attend this workshop make pre-registration as indicated in the Workshops section of the Philosophy website:
https://filosofia.cdl.unimi.it/it/insegnamenti/laboratori
Prerequisites for admission
No prior knowledge required
Teaching Resources
Texts:
- L. Baccelli, Il conflitto sociale, Roma, Futura, 2023
- K. Marx, F. Engels, Manifesto del partito comunista, Torino, Einaudi, 2014
- M. Gauchet, Tocqueville, l'America e noi, Roma, Donzelli, 2012
- L. Baccelli, Il conflitto sociale, Roma, Futura, 2023
- K. Marx, F. Engels, Manifesto del partito comunista, Torino, Einaudi, 2014
- M. Gauchet, Tocqueville, l'America e noi, Roma, Donzelli, 2012
Modules or teaching units
Laboratorio Professionalizzante
- University credits: 2
Humanities workshops: 20 hours
Professor:
Di Pierro Mattia
Ricerca Bibliografica e redazione di un testo scientifico filosofico
- University credits: 1
Humanities workshops: 16 hours
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
by appointment
Department of Philosophy, First Floor