Armando BISOGNO | MEDIEVAL AND HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY
Armando BISOGNO MEDIEVAL AND HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY
cod. 0322600186
MEDIEVAL AND HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY
| 0322600186 | |
| DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE | |
| EQF7 | |
| PHILOSOPHY | |
| 2025/2026 |
| YEAR OF COURSE 2 | |
| YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2021 | |
| SPRING SEMESTER |
| SSD | CFU | HOURS | ACTIVITY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-FIL/08 | 6 | 30 | LESSONS |
| Objectives | |
|---|---|
| GENERAL OBJECTIVE THE COURSE AIMS TO PROVIDE IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE MOST RELEVANT TOPICS RELATED TO DIGITAL HUMANITIES, UNDERSTOOD IN A DUAL MEANING: AS COMPUTATIONAL HUMANITIES, THAT IS, AS A SET OF COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS SUPPORTING HUMANISTIC RESEARCH; AND AS A HUMANISTIC APPROACH, THAT IS, AS THE ABILITY OF THE HUMANITIES TO GUIDE REFLECTION ON AND ABOUT THE DIGITAL WORLD. KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE OF: SOFTWARE TOOLS AND FUNCTIONAL PLATFORMS DESIGNED TO ENHANCE THE PERFORMANCE OF HUMANISTIC RESEARCH INTERPRETATIVE FRAMEWORKS ON THE VALUE OF A 'HUMANISTIC' APPROACH TO THE WORLD OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND THE INTERNET ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO: DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND THE UTILITY OF AND USE THE MOST RECENT COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS FOR HUMANISTIC RESEARCH DEVELOP THE ABILITY TO REFLECT ON THE ORIGINS, IMPLICATIONS, AND PERSPECTIVES OF DIGITAL CULTURE INDEPENDENT JUDGMENT STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO: NAVIGATE THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE MOST FUNCTIONAL COMPUTATIONAL RESOURCES FOR MODERN HUMANISTIC RESEARCH INITIATE IN-DEPTH STUDIES AND ORIGINAL RESEARCH ON THE VALUE OF DIGITAL CULTURE COMMUNICATION SKILLS STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO: FORMALIZE CRITICAL INTERVENTIONS, FORMULATE QUESTIONS, AND ILLUSTRATE THE OUTCOMES OF THEIR READINGS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS LEARNING CAPACITY STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO: INDEPENDENTLY IDENTIFY, IN THE EVER-FLUID LANDSCAPE OF COMPUTATIONAL TOOLS, THE MOST RECENT AND USEFUL TOOLS AND VERSIONS INVESTIGATE THE MOST RECENT LINES OF RESEARCH AND REFLECTION ON THE VALUE OF DIGITAL CULTURE |
| Prerequisites | |
|---|---|
| NO PREREQUISITES |
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| DIGITAL HUMANITIES: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSE FOR PHILOSOPHY STUDENTS THE COURSE PROVIDES PHILOSOPHY STUDENTS WITH AN INTERDISCIPLINARY OVERVIEW OF THE DIGITAL HUMANITIES (DH) FIELD, HIGHLIGHTING BOTH HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL ASPECTS AS WELL AS PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN HUMANITIES RESEARCH AND PEDAGOGY. MODULE 1: ORIGINS OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES – HISTORY AND EVOLUTION THIS INTRODUCTORY MODULE TRACES THE HISTORY OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES, FROM THE EARLIEST COMPUTATIONAL APPLICATIONS IN THE HUMANITIES TO CONTEMPORARY DEBATES. THE ANALYSIS WILL ENCOMPASS PIONEERING POST-WAR PROJECTS (SUCH AS FATHER ROBERTO BUSA'S INDEX THOMISTICUS, UNIVERSALLY RECOGNIZED AS THE INAUGURAL WORK OF HUMANITIES COMPUTING) AND THE SUBSEQUENT EVOLUTION OF THE FIELD. THE MODULE WILL ELUCIDATE HOW THE ORIGINAL "HUMANITIES COMPUTING" WAS LATER RENAMED DIGITAL HUMANITIES, INAUGURATING AN EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE INTERPRETATION OF TEXTS AND DATA. ADDITIONALLY, THE MODULE WILL ADDRESS KEY THEORETICAL DEBATES: THE DEFINITION AND BOUNDARIES OF DH, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN QUANTITATIVE APPROACHES AND QUALITATIVE INTERPRETATION, AND DIVERSE POSITIONS ON THE ROLE AND VALUE OF DH WITHIN HUMANITIES DEPARTMENTS. STUDENTS WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO CONTEXTUALIZE DH WITHIN THE HISTORY OF IDEAS, UNDERSTANDING HOW THE INTEGRATION OF DIGITAL METHODOLOGIES HAS POSED NEW METHODOLOGICAL QUESTIONS FOR THE HUMANITIES DISCIPLINES. MODULE 2: DIGITAL TOOLS FOR HUMANITIES RESEARCH – ARCHIVES, TEXTS, AND MAPS THE SECOND MODULE OFFERS AN OVERVIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL TECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS IN HUMANITIES RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATING HOW DIGITAL TOOLS CAN EXPAND AND INNOVATE THE ANALYSIS OF TEXTS, HISTORICAL DATA, AND CULTURAL HERITAGE. VARIOUS APPLICATION DOMAINS WILL BE PRESENTED AND ANALYZED: DIGITIZATION AND ONLINE ARCHIVES: HOW THE CREATION OF DIGITAL ARCHIVES AND DATABASES (DIGITAL LIBRARIES, MANUSCRIPT REPOSITORIES, ONLINE MUSEUM COLLECTIONS) ENABLES THE PRESERVATION OF AND GLOBAL ACCESS TO HISTORICAL AND LITERARY SOURCES. COMPUTATIONAL TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: TEXT MINING AND TEXT ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES FOR EXTRACTING INFORMATION FROM LARGE TEXT COLLECTIONS. DIGITAL EDITIONS AND HYPERTEXTS: THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL CRITICAL EDITIONS OF LITERARY OR PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS USING OPEN STANDARDS (SUCH AS XML-TEI) THAT INCORPORATE TEXTUAL VARIANTS, ANNOTATIONS, AND HYPERLINKS. MODULE 3: DIGITAL HUMANISM – ETHICS, EPISTEMOLOGY, AND CRITIQUE OF THE DIGITAL THIS MODULE SHIFTS THE FOCUS FROM TECHNOLOGY TO THE HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE DIGITAL WORLD. IT EXPLORES HOW THE TRAINING AND METHODOLOGY CHARACTERISTIC OF THE HUMANITIES CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE DIGITAL WORLD, PROVIDING UNIQUE CRITICAL TOOLS TO ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES POSED BY TECHNOLOGY. THEMES INCLUDE: ETHICS AND THE DIGITAL: ETHICAL PRINCIPLES AND ISSUES IN THE DIGITAL ERA (PRIVACY, SURVEILLANCE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, DIGITAL DIVIDE, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY). THE DISCUSSION WILL ADDRESS WHY PHILOSOPHICAL AND ETHICAL COMPETENCIES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR GUIDING TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBLY. CASE STUDIES WILL INCLUDE: THE USE OF ALGORITHMS IN JUDICIAL OR HEALTHCARE CONTEXTS AND RELATED ETHICAL DILEMMAS; THE FORMULATION OF ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (UNESCO, EU, ETC.) WITH THE CONTRIBUTION OF PHILOSOPHERS. DIGITAL EPISTEMOLOGY: HOW KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AND VALIDATION CHANGE IN THE ERA OF WIKIPEDIA, BIG DATA, AND ALGORITHMS. THE MODULE WILL QUESTION HOW CLASSICAL CRITERIA OF TRUTH AND EVIDENCE ARE PRESSURED BY AUTOMATION AND THE VOLUME OF INFORMATION (E.G., FAKE NEWS, ALGORITHMIC BIAS). THE HUMANISTIC APPROACH CAN OFFER INTERPRETIVE FRAMEWORKS FOR UNDERSTANDING THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "KNOW" SOMETHING WHEN WE RELY ON A SEARCH ALGORITHM OR CHATGPT? WHAT FORMS OF PREJUDICE OR ASSUMPTIONS ARE ENCODED IN DIGITAL TOOLS?). CRITIQUE OF LANGUAGE AND AI: A FOCUS ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE APPLIED TO GENERATIVE AI SYSTEMS AND DIGITAL ASSISTANTS. THE MODULE WILL EXAMINE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMAN UNDERSTANDING OF MEANING AND MACHINE STATISTICAL PROCESSING OF LANGUAGE (REVISITING CRITIQUES SUCH AS THOSE BY SEARLE OR CHOMSKY). STUDENTS WILL REFLECT ON HOW HUMANISTIC CONCEPTS—FOR EXAMPLE, THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS, OR THE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF INTERPRETATION—ARE CRUCIAL FOR EVALUATING RESULTS PRODUCED BY AI. HUMANISM AND DIGITAL SOCIETY: THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE TO A SOCIETY PERMEATED BY THE DIGITAL WILL BE ADDRESSED BROADLY. POSITIONS OF CONTEMPORARY INTELLECTUALS ON THE HUMAN-MACHINE RELATIONSHIP WILL BE CITED (E.G., POSTMAN'S TECHNOPOLY, MCLUHAN'S "THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE," EXTENDING TO CONCEPTS OF THE POST-HUMAN). THE CRISIS OF THE "TWO CULTURES" WILL BE DISCUSSED, EXPLORING WHY DIALOGUE BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANISM IS FUNDAMENTAL: FOR INSTANCE, THE MODULE WILL ANALYZE THE IDEA THAT "ALGORITHMS WITHOUT PHILOSOPHY ARE STUPID MACHINES WITH UNEXPECTED AND THEREFORE DANGEROUS EFFECTS," HIGHLIGHTING THE IRREPLACEABLE ROLE OF CRITICAL THINKING AND HUMANISTIC VALUES IN DESIGNING TECHNOLOGIES THAT SERVE HUMANITY. MODULE 4: LABORATORY OF DIGITAL PRACTICES – FROM COLLABORATIVE WRITING TO GENERATIVE AI THIS MODULE ADOPTS A LABORATORY AND PRACTICAL APPROACH, FOCUSING ON INNOVATIVE ACTIVITIES THAT INTEGRATE FREE DIGITAL TOOLS INTO EVERYDAY HUMANISTIC PRACTICE (ESPECIALLY IN TEACHING AND DISSEMINATION). THE UNDERLYING IDEA IS "LEARNING BY DOING," EXPERIMENTING FIRSTHAND WITH THE COLLABORATIVE AND CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES. IN PARTICULAR, THREE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES WILL BE CONDUCTED: (NOTE: THE DETAILS OF THESE ACTIVITIES ARE NOT FULLY SPECIFIED IN THE ORIGINAL TEXT) MODULE 5: CONCLUSIONS, FINAL PROJECT, AND LEARNING CONSOLIDATION THE FINAL MODULE IS DEDICATED TO SYNTHESIZING AND BRINGING TO MATURITY WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED DURING THE COURSE, THROUGH A CONCLUSIVE PROJECT ACTIVITY AND A COLLECTIVE FINAL REFLECTION. DURING THIS WEEK, STUDENTS APPLY THE SET OF THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL SKILLS ACQUIRED, CREATING A SMALL DIGITAL HUMANITIES PROJECT OR PREPARING A PAPER, AND PRESENTING THE RESULTS. CONCURRENTLY, THE MODULE PROVIDES SPACE FOR META-COGNITIVE REFLECTION ON THE COMPLETED COURSE. |
| Teaching Methods | |
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| THE LECTURES WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED BY PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES, BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP-BASED |
| Verification of learning | |
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| ORAL EXAMINATION |
| Texts | |
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| THE REQUIRED TEXTS WILL BE SPECIFIED BY THE PROFESSOR DURING THE COURSE |
BETA VERSION Data source ESSE3 [Ultima Sincronizzazione: 2025-10-07]
