B8521 - STORIA, PATRIMONIO, CITTADINANZA

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will:

• have acquired an overall understanding of cultural exchanges in the Euro-Mediterranean area;
• be familiar with the main historical developments, including migrations, conflicts and forms of cooperation, as well as the historical, artistic and environmental heritage produced over time;
• be familiar with the approaches and teaching methodologies required to transmit historical knowledge and promote the enhancement of cultural heritage through the design of educational pathways for schools and communities;
• have developed historical awareness and active citizenship skills in order to understand and connect historical phenomena and developments with current issues, adopting a critical approach to historical sources and cultural heritage.

Course contents

Part I. History, Heritage and Citizenship: Theoretical Foundations, Methods and Educational Practices

• The need for historical knowledge in the present

• History, historiography and the public uses of the past

• Historical sources in research, public dissemination and education

• Periodisation and the construction of images of the past

• The history laboratory: methods, tools and practices

• Methodologies for history education in school, educational and cultural contexts

• History, memory and active citizenship

• Cultural heritage as a common good: tangible, intangible and landscape heritage

• Heritage, identity, communities and inclusion

• The interconnections between history, heritage and citizenship in educational planning: didactic experimentations

Part II. Major Developments in Mediterranean History

• Power and powers: authority, conflicts, divisions and resistance

• Law and rights: norms, conflicts, justice and inequalities

• A mosaic of faiths and cultures: Judaism, Christianity and Islam

• The routes of history: trade, migration, pilgrimages, forced journeys and crusades

• Food between tradition and change

• Languages, dialects, writing systems and cultural diversity

• Building between science and technology: cities, architecture, landscapes and forms of knowledge

• Everyday life between the ordinary and the extraordinary

• Medieval legacies and contemporary heritage: cities, landscapes, places of worship, traditions and memories

Readings/Bibliography

Required readings and study materials

For attending students (attendance of at least two thirds of the classes, 66%, is required):

• Lecture notes

• Materials uploaded online

• B. Borghi, R. Dondarini, F. Galletti, La didattica del patrimonio per la didattica della storia, Bologna, Pàtron, 2026.

• B. Borghi, F. Galletti, Un'altra storia del Mediterraneo. Incontri tra ricerca e didattica, Rome, Carocci, 2025.

For non-attending students, lecture notes are to be replaced by five essays of their choice: four from the first section and one from the second section, “Experiences.”

• La didattica della storia. Ricerche, proposte, esperienze, edited by Beatrice Borghi, Rolando Dondarini and Francesco Senatore, «Ricerche Storiche», vol. LIV, no. 3, Pacini Editore, Pisa, 2024.

Optional / recommended readings for further study

• B. Borghi, R. Dondarini, Luce sui secoli bui. Lo studio, l’insegnamento e l’apprendimento della storia medievale. Questione preliminari di metodo, Bologna, Pàtron, 2017.

• F. Galletti (ed.), Ri-pensare la storia. Educare al patrimonio e alla cittadinanza attiva, «Didattica della Storia», vol. 5, no. 1S, 2023. Available at: https://dsrivista.unibo.it/issue/view/1208

• J. Santacana Mestre, N. Llonch Molina, Fare storia con gli oggetti. Metodi e percorsi didattici per bambini e adolescenti, Rome, Carocci, 2022.

• J. R. Moreno-Vera, J. Monteagudo-Fernández, C. J. Gómez-Carrasco (a cura di), Teaching history to face the world today Socially-conscious approaches, activity proposals and historical thinking competencies, Berlin, Peter Lang, 2023. Available at: https://www.peterlang.com/document/1322931

• C. J. Gómez-Carrasco, Re-imagining the Teaching of European HistoryPromoting Civic Education and Historical Consciousness, London, Routledge, 2022. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003289470/re-imagining-teaching-european-history-cosme-jes%C3%BAs-g%C3%B3mez-carrasco

Teaching methods

Teaching will be supported by the reading and discussion of sources, as well as by the viewing of audiovisual materials. Educational and workshop-based activities developed in different contexts will be presented and tested. Major historical developments will be examined through evidence drawn from the local area and its cultural heritage. Guided visits and field trips, meetings with witnesses, and sessions with subject specialists are planned.

Assessment methods

The assessment will take the form of an oral examination, consisting of questions designed to assess students’ knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the required readings. Students will be asked broad questions in order to demonstrate their overall preparation, their ability to navigate the subject area, and their capacity to explore specific topics in greater depth. In addition to knowledge of the course content, the final assessment will take into account clarity and accuracy of expression, as well as the ability to organise information into relevant answers demonstrating critical thinking and argumentative skills.

The final grade will be awarded according to the following criteria:

18–19/30: preparation limited to a very small number of topics covered in the course; analytical skills emerging only with the guidance of the instructor; generally correct but basic and insufficiently developed presentation.

20–24/30: preparation relating to a limited number of course topics; autonomous analytical ability mainly confined to descriptive or procedural aspects; correct presentation, although disciplinary terminology may not always be used accurately.

25–29/30: broad preparation across the topics covered in the course; ability to engage in critical analysis and independent elaboration; appropriate use of subject-specific terminology; clear and coherent presentation.

30/30–30/30 with honours: thorough and substantially comprehensive preparation across the course topics; full ability to analyse critically, establish connections and develop independent arguments; confident command of subject-specific terminology; ability to reflect critically on the content and relate it to issues concerning history, heritage and citizenship.

With regard to the assessment of learning, the use of AI is prohibited. Any use constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

In order to sit the examination, students must register via the electronic noticeboard (AlmaEsami), in strict compliance with the relevant deadlines. Students who are unable to register by the established deadline due to technical problems must promptly notify the Teaching Office, and in any case before the official closure of the registration lists. The lecturer may then decide whether to admit them to the examination.

Students with credits recognised from previous academic careers, Erasmus students, or students participating in other exchange programmes will take an oral examination based on a programme agreed upon in advance.

Teaching tools

Lectures make use of online resources, audiovisual materials and digital presentations (PowerPoint). These materials will be made available to students in the course section entitled “Teaching Materials”.

Students with specific learning disorders (SLD) or disabilities are advised to contact the relevant University office in good time: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it . The University Support Service will propose any appropriate accommodations for the students concerned. Such accommodations must, in any case, be submitted to the instructor for approval at least 15 days in advance; their suitability will be assessed in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Filippo Galletti