Marco Zolli

I graduated with a master's degree in Philosophy (2022) from the University of Pisa and from Scuola Normale Superiore (2017-2022), where I am now (2022 - ) PhD student in Philosophy. 

My doctoral project focuses on the investigation of racial theories in classical liberalism. It aims to study how different forms of racism interact and are grafted onto liberal political theories. In general, I would specifically investigate the link between conceptions of individuality and racism, verifying whether "strong" conceptions of the individual favour the grafting and diffusion of racist thought structures in the political philosophies under consideration. While a strong individualist tradition, such as John Stuart Mill's utilitarianism, is incapable of resisting racist drifts, a "social" liberalism like the French one (think of authors such as Constant or Tocqueville) is instead able to provide relevant theoretical contributions to the understanding of phenomena of oppression, processes of individualization and racialization, conceiving them as consequences of precise practices and forms of power. 

My research interests concern the history of political thought, democratic theory, colonialism, and imperialism in general.