formerly SPS/01 Political Philosophy

Study and understanding of politics and politically relevant phenomena from a predominantly philosophical and theoretical perspective. Research in this area is grounded in a tradition consolidated by widely recognized international scholarship. While respecting a plurality of interpretative approaches—which constitutes its richness—philosophical-political research relies on a rigorous argumentative method that involves direct engagement with primary sources, encompassing both historical and contemporary currents of thought.
Accordingly, it draws on the study of the classics of political philosophy while maintaining a continuous dialogue with new expressions of thought and scientific knowledge. The exercise of philosophical interpretation and criticism of political phenomena is developed not only through engagement with theories but also in light of concrete political practices, which are embedded in ideas, languages, symbols, and political institutions.
In particular, research and teaching activities are conducted across multiple areas, including: philosophical analysis of political thought; historical and theoretical investigation of political concepts, political language, and the sources of political normativity; studies of political symbolism and the relationship between power and the collective imaginary; philosophy of the social sciences; history of political philosophy; social philosophy; critical theory of society; philosophy of social and political change; gender and intersectionality studies; philosophy of international relations and the global age; philosophical-political analysis of rights and theories of justice; theories, categories, and practices of government, governance, and governmentality; philosophy of institutions and political anthropology; normative political philosophy, public ethics, and the study of the political implications of bioethics; philosophical-political reflection on environmental issues; and studies of the biopolitical nexus between human subjectivity, political technology, and living species.