Contemporary Political Philosophy

This course introduces the students to the most important topics discussed in contemporary political philosophy or political theory. The course is divided into four sections. The first one concerns the understanding of politics in the works of C. Schmitt, H. Arendt and C. Mouffe. The second section examines the relationship between theory and practice from the point of view of the critical theory and post-structuralism. The third section is devoted to the debate between the liberals and the communitarians. The fourth and last section of the course then turns to the various ways of (re-)interpreting (or appropriating) of both ancient political theory and ancient political practice in contemporary political philosophy.