THE FORMATION OF OPINIONS AND DEMOCRACY
Dialogue and exchange between different opinions is one of the qualifying elements of democracy over the centuries. The isegoria of Athenian democracy, the value of cultural pluralism in twentieth-century constitutional democracies, the importance of informed discussion in contemporary theories and experiences of deliberative democracy are some of the main stages, which will be explored in the course. Do Internet and social media today risk reducing opportunities for meetings and dialogue between opposing opinions? The answer to this question depends on how we judge some dynamics that modify the processes of formation, aggregation and circulation of opinions, providing new impetus to ancient phenomena and generating new ones: fragmentation of opinions, echo chambers and creation of informative "niches", polarization, hate speech, cybercascades.

Also through workshops and moments of confrontation between the students, the course will provide a first overview of these dynamics, with the aim of discussing risks and potential for the training of the democratic citizen.