IFCO 6030 - Philosophies of Worldmaking

Have you ever wondered why the world appears differently to different people? Have you ever questioned who decides what counts as the real world? This thought-provoking course invites you to explore the idea that our world is not simply ‘out there’, waiting to be discovered, but that it is actively constructed, promoted, contested, and shaped by powerful systems of meaning. These systems of meaning that shape the world that we perceive are called, for the sake of this course, ‘philosophies of worldmaking’.

With an emphasis on 12 philosophies of world-making, this course critically discusses 12 ways in which the world is perceived, constituted, designed, governed, ordered, globalized, provincialized, reduced, colonized, exploited, maximized, naturalized, discriminated, or flattened. Yet, not all worlds so created are created equal. This course will show that such philosophies of world-making are actual programmes of perception and that none of them doctrines are benign. Each of them comes with a certain agenda, a certain political project, certain presuppositions, certain geographies, certain hierarchies, certain visibilities, certain invisibilities, certain losers, certain winners etc. This course will have a very strong interdisciplinary dimension and allow you to immerse yourself in political philosophy, political theory, international law, critical theory, Marxist theory, literary theory, feminist theory, postcolonial theory, decolonial theory, political economy, etc. Prepare yourself for intellectual debates, interdisciplinary insights, and philosophical challenges that will transform your perspective on global governance permanently.

Course objectives

• Students will be introduced to some fundamental systems of meaning & theories that govern the way in which one looks at the world, construes it, and intervenes in its problems.
• Students will be given the opportunity to read once in their lifetime some of the most foundational texts of modern thought and of the critical tradition.
• Students will be exposed to political philosophy, political theory, international law, critical theory, Marxist theory, literary theory, feminist theory, postcolonial theory, decolonial theory, political economy, etc.
• Students will be made familiar with what is called the performativity and world-making dimensions of contemporary theories about global governance, political economy, international law, and political theory. This means understanding that words act upon the world.
• The course will allow students to appreciate the limits of each of the doctrines examined in this course, thereby gaining critical insights into the modern patterns of thought that inform contemporary thinking as well as critical theories.
• Students will be made aware of the systems of thought that inform the way current international and domestic actors order the world and frame or obfuscate its injustices.
• After completing this course, students will be able to discern which systems of thoughts currently govern the world and will have the intellectual tools to challenge them.

This is a fundamental course with no prerequisites.

Students are expected to dedicate approximately 2 hours per session to completing the assigned readings. Coming to class prepared is essential, for readings will not be summarized during sessions, and the lecturer will assume familiarity with the material. Students should organize their time accordingly.

For the first class, students should have read: Bruno Latour, We have never been modern (1991) (read only Chapter 2, Constitution).

Lectures. Room will be made for discussion and questions.

Assignment 1: a detailed prompt and a one-minute audio pitch.

Students will submit a detailed prompt (of max 2000 words) as if they were about to generate, through generative AI, a would-be essay that answers a question.

The prompt will be accompanied by a short audio file in which they pitch their main argument and the structure of the paper they wish to produce.

This assignment accounts for 30% of the final grade.

Assignment 2: a two-hour closed-book written exam (to be held during exam week, between 11 and 17 December).

Students will respond to a single essay question.

This assignment accounts for 70% of the final grade.