The course develops a critical understanding of the doctrine of human rights by examining its philosophical foundations, normative content and relevance within the contemporary geopolitical order. Students learn to reconstruct the historical evolution of the idea of human rights, from its earliest philosophical origins to its most recent forms of international codification.
The course enables students to distinguish among the main categories of human rights, assess their theoretical justifications and compare the major critiques formulated from different political, cultural and philosophical perspectives. Through the analysis of key texts and contemporary debates, students gain the competence to interpret the role of human rights in political conflicts, international relations and the decision‑making processes of global institutions.
The course enables students to distinguish among the main categories of human rights, assess their theoretical justifications and compare the major critiques formulated from different political, cultural and philosophical perspectives. Through the analysis of key texts and contemporary debates, students gain the competence to interpret the role of human rights in political conflicts, international relations and the decision‑making processes of global institutions.
teacher profile teaching materials
In order to achieve good results in terms of comprehension and final marks, the use of unauthorized notes and/or AI generated summaries is highly not adviced.
1) A. HONNETH, "Il diritto della libertà. Lineamenti per un’eticità democratica", trad. C. Sandrelli, Codice Edizioni, Torino 2015 (ISBN 978-88-7578-517-8)
2) Notes authored by the teacher distributed in class by the teacher
Exam programme for Non-attending students:
1) A. HONNETH, "Il diritto della libertà. Lineamenti per un’eticità democratica", trad. C. Sandrelli, Codice Edizioni, Torino 2015 (ISBN 978-88-7578-517-8)
2) F. PONGIGLIONE, I diritti umani nel dibattito etico contemporaneo, Carocci, Roma 2019 (ISBN 978-88-430-9438-7)
Programme
For attending students the final exam requires a detailed knowledge of notes drafted by the teacher (to be distributed in class) and of the book by Axel Honneth ("Freedom's Right. The Social Foundations of Democratic Life"). For non-attending students the final exam requires a detailed knowledge of the book by Axel Honneth ("Il diritto della libertà. Lineamenti per un'eticità democratica") and of the book by Francesca Pongiglione ("I diritti umani nel dibattito etico contemporaneo").In order to achieve good results in terms of comprehension and final marks, the use of unauthorized notes and/or AI generated summaries is highly not adviced.
Core Documentation
Exam programme for attending students:1) A. HONNETH, "Il diritto della libertà. Lineamenti per un’eticità democratica", trad. C. Sandrelli, Codice Edizioni, Torino 2015 (ISBN 978-88-7578-517-8)
2) Notes authored by the teacher distributed in class by the teacher
Exam programme for Non-attending students:
1) A. HONNETH, "Il diritto della libertà. Lineamenti per un’eticità democratica", trad. C. Sandrelli, Codice Edizioni, Torino 2015 (ISBN 978-88-7578-517-8)
2) F. PONGIGLIONE, I diritti umani nel dibattito etico contemporaneo, Carocci, Roma 2019 (ISBN 978-88-430-9438-7)
Reference Bibliography
Further bibliography is not required as far as the exam programme is concerned.Attendance
Although not strictly mandatory, regular class attendance is highly recommended to gain familiarity with the analytical-conceptual aspects that characterize the course.Type of evaluation
The evaluation of both attending and non-attending students follows the canonical series of questions and answers inspired by the so-called Socratic Method. In particular, the evaluation will take into consideration 1) the descriptive and defining ability of the candidates and 2) the argumentative and meta-critical ability of the candidates.