Arts and humanities

Presentation

The DU PhiloPolis aims to train people to facilitate philosophical dialogues in various contexts, structures, and institutions, and according to different mechanisms. 
It is one of the few university diplomas in France in this field that is offered by a philosophy department, thereby ensuring compliance with academic requirements. 
Collaboration with trainers specializing in facilitating and developing educational practices for philosophical dialogue provides additional skills that enable this form of dialogue to be understood and facilitated. 
Issued only atUniversité Grenoble Alpes, its purpose is to enable students to deepen their knowledge of philosophy while developing specific professional skills in the field of facilitating philosophical dialogues.

Organization

The training is mainly face-to-face (four 3-day periods) and includes 96 hours of training and 70 hours of internship spread over two semesters. Several follow-up meetings are organized via videoconference.
^First semester (September to February 2027)

• UE1 Fundamentals of Philosophy 1: 24 hours, including 22 hours of in-person classes ( 3 days in October and 3 days in February) + 2 hours of distance learning (reading and preparation prior to the October period)
• EU 2 Introduction to philosophical dialogue practices: 24 hours, including 22 hours of face-to-face teaching ( 3 days in October and 3 days in February) + 2 hours of distance learning(feedback and internship search for the second semester). 

^Second semester (March to July 2027) :

• UE3 Fundamental Elements of Philosophy 2: 24 hours, including 22 hours of face-to-face training (3days in April and 3 days in July) + 2 hours of distance learning (reading and preparation prior to the April period). Prerequisite: completion of UE1 (by certificate of attendance).
• UE 4 Facilitating philosophical dialogues: 24 hours, including 22 hours of face-to-face training (3 days in April and 3 days in July) + 2 hours of distance learning (feedback on the second semester internship). Prerequisite: completion of UE2 (by certificate of attendance).

The diploma can be completed in one or two consecutive years.

Program

For UE1 and UE3: Fundamental Elements of Philosophy 1 and 2
Objective: acquire tools and concepts related to the practice of facilitating philosophical dialogue.

• The concept of dialogue, theory of communicative action, Socratic dialogue, history and representation of dialogue, etc.
• Democracy as a system and form of social life, critical and pragmatic perspectives. Theory of institutions, social perspectives, citizenship, and social engagement.
• Critical thinking , history and representation of critical action, Frankfurt School theory, Foucauldian perspective, and theories of critical and post-critical thinking.
• The concepts of debate and conflict, the history of political conflict, the dialectic of coexistence and power, critical perspectives, and theories of domination.
• Political education, perspective on political awareness, critical pedagogy, popular education, theory of emancipation and empowerment.

Assessment for EU1 and EU3 : a reflective report on learning outcomes during teaching sessions and the social and political issues and challenges of philosophical dialogue. A 30-page written report to be submitted at the end of the second semester. 

For UE2 and UE4: Introduction and activities on philosophical dialogue practices 

• Facilitating philosophical dialogue (mastery of various facilitation methods, role of the facilitator, managing the stages and conditions of philosophical dialogue). 
• Design a philosophy workshop based on an animation tool (adaptation to the audience and workshop conditions, mastery of various textual and audiovisual methods).
• Distinguishing dialogue skills (theoretical foundation of Lipman and Sharp's thinking and dialogue skills, mastery of philosophical concepts, development of problem-solving, conceptualization, argumentation, and interpretation skills).
• Plan short-, medium-, and long-term progress for a workshop (considering the progression of a workshop over a long period, setting educational objectives for sequences, presenting the project, participants' expectations of the practice, requirements of host organizations, professional, interprofessional, and interinstitutional collaboration).
• Managing problematic situations and sensitive topics during a workshop(taking into account epistemic injustices, intersectional discrimination, and tools for dialogue with vulnerable audiences).

Assessment for EU2 and EU4 : A 45-minute oral presentation on the issues and challenges the candidate faced in facilitating philosophical dialogue sessions during their internship. The presentation will be conducted via video conference before a panel of instructors and is scheduled for late August.

For whom?

• Booksellers, children's librarians, book professionals
• After-school activities, youth clubs, leisure centers
• Teachers, especially primary and secondary school teachers
• Educators working in the popular education and socio-cultural sectors
• Anyone planning to develop philosophical dialogue practices (café-philo, afternoon tea-philo, etc.).

Admission requirements

This university degree is available as an initial training program and as continuing education.

• Hold a bachelor's degree or present a serious professional project involving the facilitation of philosophical dialogues.
• Resume and cover letter, proof of degrees obtained, B2 language proficiency certificate for non-French-speaking applicants 

Applications to be submitted to the ecandidat application from 1^er April to April 30, 2026