Ateneo - UPO

The 'classic' is Cesare Beccaria's most celebrated work, Of Crimes and Punishments.

All students are required to study text no. 1), plus a text of their choice from the books listed in group 2).

1) Cesare Beccaria, Dei delitti e delle pene, prefazione di Stefano Rodotà, a cura di Alberto Burgio, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1991

2) One of the following books:

Philippe Audegean, Cesare Beccaria, filosofo europeo, trad. it. B. Carnevali, Roma, Carocci, 2014
Philippe Audegean, Violenza e giustizia. Beccaria e la questione penale, Bologna, il Mulino, 2023
Jacques Derrida, La pena di morte (1999-2000), Milano, Jaca Book, 2014
Michel Foucault, La società punitiva (1972-73), Milano, Feltrinelli, 2016
Derecka Purnell, Come sono diventata abolizionista. Polizia, proteste e libertà, Roma, Fandango, 2023

The course aims, at a basic level, to provide students with:
1. (knowledge and understanding): the basic knowledge related to Beccaria's work, Of Crimes and Punishments, and of the historical and philosophical context of the work;
2. (ability to apply knowledge understanding): the essential methodological tools for studying a classic from Beccaria's work;
3. (autonomy of judgment): the ability to exercise sufficient independence of judgment;
4. (communication skills): the ability to present the knowledge acquired in a way and clear and correct;
5. (learning skills): a sufficient ability to analyze texts and connect the topics covered.

At a more advanced level, the course aims to enable the acquisition of:

1. (knowledge and understanding): a thorough knowledge of Beccaria's work, Of Crimes and Punishments, and the historical and philosophical context of the work, with reference to the different interpretations of the text;2. (ability to apply knowledge and understanding): a good ability to reconstruct Beccaria's arguments and the argumentative structure of the text accurately and thoroughly;3. (autonomy of judgment): a good ability to critically analyze Beccaria's theses and compare them with the main theories of punishment in modern and contemporary political thought, with particular reference to the opposing arguments concerning the death penalty and torture;4. (communication skills): a good ability to present in a way and clear and correct knowledge acquired, showing full mastery of terminology and vocabulary (corrective, retributive, and preventive function of punishment; special and general prevention; due process and the rule of law);5. (learning skills): a good ability to analyze texts and connect the topics covered, demonstrating awareness of the problems related to interpreting the classics and ability to carry out individual in-depth studies.

Logical and linguistic abilities and historical knowledge acquired in high school.

Lectures, text readings, papers and classroom discussions, including the use of online tools to support historical and political research.

The course will take place in the first semester of 2023-24. Please register for the course via the DIR platform, which will be activated by early October 2023.

At the end of the course, learning will be verified by an oral test lasting approximately 20 to 30 minutes structured as follows: 1. The presentation of a topic of your choice from among those covered in the course, with follow-up questions relating to the topic presented; 2: A question commenting on a passage from Beccaria's work (e.g., ch. XXVIII: "It is therefore not the death penalty a right": explain Beccaria's argument leading to this conclusion); 3. A question relating to the text of your choice.
The grade is given in thirtieths and the assessment is made according to the following parameters: The students should have acquired: 1. a basic knowledge of Beccaria's Treatise and of the text of their choice (corresponding to 18-23/30); 2. the ability of comparing different theories and to interpret the texts in their contexts (corresponding to 24-26/30); 3. the ability to present arguments in a critical way and to show excellent communicative capabilities (corresponding to 27-30/30).

The course aims to present Beccaria's work, Dei delitti e delle pene, on the one hand as a classic text of the Italian and European Enlightenment, and on the other hand as the founding moment of a new way of conceiving society and politics. After taking into consideration the author's intention and the structure of the text, we will dwell on its reception and the debates aroused by the book's fundamental theses, in particular concerning the death penalty and torture. We will then question the meaning of punishment, particularly with reference to the theses of Nietzsche, Foucault and Derrida. Finally, we will examine some contemporary debates on these issues that take place in political philosophy and sociology.

- knowledge and comprehension: to acquire the ability to: a) frame, analyse and understand the classical texts of political thought in their particular historical context; b) recognise the different theoretical positions with respect to the concepts of political power, power to punish, death penalty; c) recognise and understand some interpretative traditions in disagreement with each other; d) recognise the argumentative structure of the texts considered;
- ability to apply knowledge and understanding: a) ability to acquire a historical and critical perspective with respect to current debates on topics such as prison, death penalty, torture; b) ability to present in oral form the arguments analysed and to place them in the appropriate historical context;
- expression of judgements: ability to weigh up the various arguments considered and to check their assumptions and consequences, applying them to specific cases;
- communication skills: ability to present the analysed texts correctly in oral form;
- study skills: ability to independently study primary sources and critical essays by contemporary authors.