98899 - Space and Historical Culture in the Middle Ages (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student has a general view of medieval historical culture in order to reconstruct the geographical, political, economic and social spaces of the Western Middle Ages. They are able to recognise the main ways in which historical accounts are written, thanks to the reading and analysis of the sources, with methodological rigour; they are able to carry out bibliographical research aimed at the specific nature of the sources and to use the main bibliographical resources of reference; they are able to grasp the prevailing models of interpretation of events and the connections between the various phases of the construction of historical memory and the evolution of the spatial-territorial and political-institutional structures in the various areas of textual production; they are able to place textual production in diachrony, identifying its changes and function in the historical context of reference; they are able to analyse and synthesise the long-term effectiveness of the forms of representation of the historical context provided by the sources.

Course contents

The course provides an introduction to medieval historical culture and historical writing, as well as to historical and chronicle narratives, both in terms of society’s self-representation and its representation of otherness. The development of political, institutional, spatial, and territorial structures; the articulation of relations between secular and ecclesiastical powers; and reflection on prevailing social frameworks and their ideological crystallisation will be analysed through the texts. The aim is to highlight their dynamics and reciprocal interactions, with particular attention to the mechanisms through which cultural memory is constructed, following Jan Assmann’s methodological perspective. Each thematic unit will examine the connection between the construction of memory and the transformation of spatial-territorial and political-institutional structures.

The first week of the course will provide a theoretical framework on cultural memory and the invention of tradition, drawing on J. Assmann and E. Hobsbawm. The second week will introduce the general characteristics of medieval historical writing and the main tools used to analyse textual production, offering a taxonomy of sources and a series of targeted methodological guidelines.

The third week will focus on the theme of the memory of origins and on selected case studies. It will empirically examine the narrative strategies associated with the identified thematic areas, including the description of events, the role of the actors involved, and differences in representation connected with the political orientation of the authors under consideration.

The fourth week will focus on the theme of contemporary memories and on selected case studies, again empirically examining the narrative strategies associated with the identified thematic areas, including the description of events, the role of the actors involved, and differences in representation connected with the political orientation of the authors under consideration.

The fifth week will be devoted to perceptions of the Middle Ages in contemporary culture, reconsidering the thematic areas addressed during the previous weeks from a long-term perspective.

During the final two weeks, depending on the number of students attending the course, one or more classes will be devoted to group discussions of different historiographical sources selected by the instructor. Each group will be provided with the texts required to prepare for the discussion. The concluding part of the course will therefore include a practical source-analysis exercise consistent with the methodological framework presented during the second week.

Readings/Bibliography

COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS

Students attending the course are expected to participate regularly in classes and contribute to classroom discussions. During the final two weeks, depending on the number of participants, one or more groups of students will present the sources selected by the course instructor, following a schedule that will be shared at the beginning of the course. Most teaching materials will be made available to students on the dedicated Virtuale platform.

The final oral examination will be based on:

• the materials discussed in class;

• the primary source examined in class and indicated at the beginning of the course, with each student preparing one source within the assigned groups;

• the following reading list:

Cultural Memory and Methodology

• Jan Assmann, La memoria culturale. Scrittura, ricordo e identità politica nelle grandi civiltà antiche, Turin, 1997, Introduction.
• E. Hobsbawm, “Introduzione,” in L’invenzione della tradizione, edited by E. J. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger, Turin, 2002, pp. 3–17.
• O. Capitani, “La storiografia medievale,” in La storia. I grandi problemi dal Medioevo all’Età contemporanea, edited by M. Firpo and N. Tranfaglia, vol. I: Il Medioevo, part 1: I quadri generali, Turin, 1988, pp. 758–792.
• B. Smalley, Storici nel Medioevo, Naples, 1979, chapters I–IV.
• M. Zabbia, “Sulla scrittura della storia in Italia (secoli XIII–XV),” in Tra storiografia e retorica: prospettive nel basso medioevo italiano, edited by M. Zabbia, Reti Medievali Rivista, 19, no. 1 (2018), available at: http://rivista.retimedievali.it/
• F. Delle Donne, “Cronache in cerca d’autore: l’autoconsapevolezza come misura della professionalizzazione dello storiografo,” in Scrivere storia nel medioevo. Regolamentazione delle forme e delle pratiche nei secoli XII–XV, edited by F. Delle Donne, P. Garbini, and M. Zabbia, Rome, 2021, pp. 13–28.

Contemporary Perceptions of the Middle Ages

• T. di Carpegna Falconieri, “Cinque altri modi di sognare il medioevo. Addenda a un testo celebre,” in Bullettino dell’Istituto storico italiano per il Medio Evo, 122 (2020), pp. 407–433.
• U. Eco, “Dieci modi di sognare il medioevo,” in U. Eco, Sugli specchi e altri saggi, Milan, 1985, pp. 78–89; or U. Eco, Scritti sul pensiero medievale, Milan, 2013, pp. 1093–1108.
• F. Roversi Monaco, “Medioevo ‘medievale’ fra stereotipi e storiografia,” in Fortune del Medioevo. Studi di Medievalismo, edited by R. Capelli, Alessandria, 2023, pp. 13–30.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

Non-attending students are required to read FOUR ARTICLES and ONE book selected from the following list. Their selection must be agreed upon in advance with the course instructor, ensuring that the chosen combination covers both the theoretical framework of cultural memory and at least one applied case study.

Books

• A. Assmann, Forme e mutamenti della memoria culturale, Bologna, 2015.
• J. Assmann, La memoria culturale. Scrittura, ricordo e identità politica nelle grandi civiltà antiche, Turin, 1997.
• L’invenzione della tradizione, edited by E. J. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger, Turin, 2002.
• P. Geary, Il mito delle nazioni. Le origini medievali dell’Europa, Rome, 2009.
• Scrivere storia nel medioevo. Regolamentazione delle forme e delle pratiche nei secoli XII–XV, edited by F. Delle Donne, P. Garbini, and M. Zabbia, Rome, 2021.
• B. Smalley, Storici nel Medioevo, Naples, 1979.
• Storici per vocazione. Tra autobiografia e modelli letterari, edited by M. Zabbia, Rome, 2021.
  

ARTICLES:

Cultural Memory and Methodology

• Jan Assmann, La memoria culturale. Scrittura, ricordo e identità politica nelle grandi civiltà antiche, Turin, 1997, Introduction.
• E. Hobsbawm, “Introduzione,” in L’invenzione della tradizione, edited by E. J. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger, Turin, 2002, pp. 3–17.
• O. Capitani, “La storiografia medievale,” in La storia. I grandi problemi dal Medioevo all’Età contemporanea, edited by M. Firpo and N. Tranfaglia, vol. I: Il Medioevo, part 1: I quadri generali, Turin, 1988, pp. 758–792.
• B. Smalley, Storici nel Medioevo, Naples, 1979, chapters I–IV.
• M. Zabbia, “Sulla scrittura della storia in Italia (secoli XIII–XV),” in Tra storiografia e retorica: prospettive nel basso medioevo italiano, edited by M. Zabbia, Reti Medievali Rivista, 19, no. 1 (2018), available at: http://rivista.retimedievali.it/
• F. Delle Donne, “Cronache in cerca d’autore: l’autoconsapevolezza come misura della professionalizzazione dello storiografo,” in Scrivere storia nel medioevo. Regolamentazione delle forme e delle pratiche nei secoli XII–XV, edited by F. Delle Donne, P. Garbini, and M. Zabbia, Rome, 2021, pp. 13–28.

Contemporary Perceptions of the Middle Ages

• T. di Carpegna Falconieri, “Cinque altri modi di sognare il medioevo. Addenda a un testo celebre,” in Bullettino dell’Istituto storico italiano per il Medio Evo, 122 (2020), pp. 407–433.
• U. Eco, “Dieci modi di sognare il medioevo,” in U. Eco, Sugli specchi e altri saggi, Milan, 1985, pp. 78–89; or U. Eco, Scritti sul pensiero medievale, Milan, 2013, pp. 1093–1108.
• F. Roversi Monaco, “Medioevo ‘medievale’ fra stereotipi e storiografia,” in Fortune del Medioevo. Studi di Medievalismo, edited by R. Capelli, Alessandria, 2023, pp. 13–30.

Teaching methods

Lectures and classroom discussions, with a direct source-analysis exercise concentrated in the final two weeks of the course.

Assessment methods

Assessment Methods and Evaluation CriteriaASSESSMENT METHODS

Please note: This 6-ECTS course is part of the integrated course Spaces and Encounters between Cultures in the Middle Ages (Integrated Course) (Second-Cycle Degree Programme). The examinations for both components of the integrated course must be taken on the same day. Students whose study plan includes the 12-ECTS integrated course will receive a final grade calculated as the arithmetic mean of the grades obtained in the two components: Space and Historical Culture in the Middle Ages (1) (Second-Cycle Degree Programme) and Cross-Cultural Encounters in the Medieval World (1) (Second-Cycle Degree Programme).

Please note: Students are considered attending students if they participate in at least 75% of the classes.

Students who miss more than four classes will be required to take the examination as non-attending students.

Attending students are required to participate regularly in the course and prepare a group discussion of a primary source assigned by the course instructor. Their preparation of the assigned readings will be assessed through an oral examination.

For the preparation of the source presentation, limited, explicitly declared, and non-substantial use of artificial intelligence is permitted for supporting activities, such as summarisation and rephrasing. Substantial use of artificial intelligence to complete any part of the assessment is not permitted.

The oral examination grade for attending students will be based on:

• knowledge of the assigned readings;

• critical thinking skills;

• command of the subject-specific terminology;

• methodological rigour in the analysis of the primary source discussed in class.

Non-attending students will be assessed through an oral examination. They will be asked questions designed to assess their knowledge of the assigned readings. The questions will also evaluate their command of subject-specific terminology, critical thinking skills, and ability to reorganise the knowledge acquired. With regard to the selected case-study books, particular attention will be paid to methodological rigour in the analysis of the sources discussed in those works.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

The assessment will take particular account of the student’s ability to navigate the primary sources and the bibliographical materials included in the examination syllabus, identify relevant information, explain specific themes and problems, and establish meaningful connections between them.

The following aspects will therefore be evaluated:

• command of the course content;

• ability to synthesise and analyse themes and concepts;

• ability to express ideas clearly and appropriately, using terminology suited to the subject matter.

Students who demonstrate a coherent and comprehensive understanding of the topics covered in class, together with the ability to use this knowledge critically, a strong command of expression, and appropriate use of subject-specific terminology, will receive excellent grades.

A mainly memorised knowledge of the subject, combined with adequate analytical and synthesis skills expressed in correct, though not always fully appropriate, language, will result in satisfactory grades.

Gaps in knowledge and/or inappropriate language, even where a minimum knowledge of the examination materials is demonstrated, will result in grades no higher than the minimum passing level.

Significant gaps in knowledge, inappropriate language, and an inability to navigate the bibliographical materials provided during the course will result in a failing grade.

Please note: Ten examination sessions are scheduled during the academic year: one per month from January to June and one per month from September to December.

 

Teaching tools

Frontal lectures and class discussions will be supported by Power Point presentations aimed to show visual and textual materials. The power point presentations will be made available to attending students via the Virtuale platform.

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.

Office hours

See the website of Francesca Roversi Monaco