27280 - Seminars (1) (G.B)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the seminar students will be able to interpret issues related to specific historical phenomena in a diachronic and transversal perspective, thought the elaboration and synthesis of the data coming from the analysis of written records and material sources and from the collective debate originated from the contact with other people. They will be able to formulate autonomously and in an organized way a research path or an intellectual work, using the specific acquired tools with methodological rigour, precision and accuracy.

Course contents

Mythological machines: past and present

The seminar aims to provide historical knowledge and critical skills useful for deciphering myths and neutralizing their captivating effects through the conceptual device of the "mythological machine." Forged by the scholar of myth Furio Jesi in the early 1970s, it is one of the most effective epistemological models developed for the critical study of “myth,” and more specifically, for identifying the intricate interplay of metaphysical resonances, manipulations and ideological captures, as well as material or political interests underlying the production and use of mythological materials.

The introductory lessons are dedicated to presenting the intellectual genealogy, anthropological premises, and general operational characteristics of this true “myth power station,” capable of endowing ideas, texts, images, and social representations with an aura of truth, eternity, and self-evidence—charged with a high emotional impact.

The seminar then sets out to test this generator of “mythicity” on various case studies, both Jesian and non-Jesian, focusing on mythological materials that are “firmly grounded in history,” with a chronology ranging from the early 19th century to the present day. The investigation concentrates in particular on antisemitic, colonial, and folkloric mythological machines, illustrating not only the predictably regressive, discriminatory, and even persecutory nature of their mechanisms but, in relation to the third type, also their potentially critical and emancipatory aspects. The seminar concludes with a look at contemporary mythological machines and conspiracy theories.

Readings/Bibliography

The seminar material is drawn from an in-dept and often complete reading of a series of texts, starting with those by Furio Jesi on the "mythological machine." Should the pace of the seminar allow it, and provided the workload remains manageable, students may be assigned portions of these texts to read and later discuss in class. Among the volumes whose contents will be presented by the teacher and discussed in class are:

J. Addams, The Long Road of Woman’s Memory, University of Illinois Press, 2002.

R. Barthes, Miti d’oggi, Einaudi, 1974 (ed. or. 1957).

W. Davis, Passage of Darkness: The Ethnobiology of the Haitian Zombie, University of North Carolina Press, 1988.

E. de Martino, “Intorno a una storia del mondo popolare subalterno”, Società 5.3 (1949), pp. 411-435.

D. Di Cesare, Il complotto al potere, Einaudi, 2021.

F. Fanon, I dannati della terra, Einaudi, 1962 (ed. or. 1961).

F. Jesi, Mito, Quodlibet, 2023 (ed. or. 1973).

F. Jesi, Materiali mitologici. Mito e antropologia nella cultura mitteleuropea, Einaudi, 1979.

F. Jesi, Cultura di destra – Con tre inediti e un’intervista, Nottetempo, 2011 (ed. or. 1979).

F. Jesi, L’accusa del sangue. La macchina mitologica antisemita, Bollati Boringhieri 2007 (ed. or. 1973).

E. Morin, La rumeur d’Orléans, Seuil, 1982.

V. Pisanty, La difesa della razza. Antologia 1938-1943, Bompiani, 2006.

I. Veca, Il discorso del rabbino. Storia del plagio alle origini dell’antisemitismo moderno, il Mulino, 2025.

Wu Ming 1, La Q di Complotto. QAnon e dintorni. Come le fantasie di complotto difendono il sistema, Alegre, 2021.

Teaching methods

The course will be conducted through lectures during which sources and images will be shared. Visual materials are systematically integrated into the presentation. Students are encouraged to participate actively.

Assessment methods

Attendance. Students are considered attending if they participate in at least 75% of the classes.

Written Exam The exam consists of writing a paper of approximately ten pages on topics treated in the seminar or otherwise relevant to the model of the mythological machine. Students may propose alternative topics that compare the case studies discussed in the seminar with authors, themes, or issues of particular personal interest. It is warmly recommended that the topic be agreed upon with the instructor. The paper must be submitted as an editable PDF to the instructor at least one week before the exam session in which the student intends to take the exam (registration for the exam session on Almaesami is required).

Exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: April, May, June, July, September, January, and February for all students.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Documentaries, films, visual materials, and PowerPoint presentations may be used.

Office hours

See the website of Emiliano Urciuoli