12544 - History of Medieval Political Thought(1)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide students with a general vision of the evolution of political thought in the Christian West throughout the middle ages (6th-15th century). They will be able to discuss the latest comments on and interpretations of a series of texts taken from soures that keenly affected the evolution of medieval political thought. They will grasp how and where different cultures interacted in history. They will recognize the relevance of categories, languages and complex concepts to cultural interaction over the long term. They will also learn to listen, understand and debate respectfully with different cultures and viewpoints, spotting the tie-ups among different disciplines.

Course contents

 

Sources, methods and tools for the study of medieval political thought (approximately 2 hours).

Themes and figures of medieval political thought (approximately 22 hours):

- Papacy, Empire and Kingdoms: ideological fundaments of the Universal Sovereignty and of the national monarchy (the Gelasian principle; the Donation of Constantine; Gregory VII);

- Absolutism and Constitutionalism (the lex regia de imperio; the Magna carta libertatum; Bracton; Bartolo's Political Thought);

- The rediscovery of Aristotle in the West (Thomas Aquinas)

- The crisis of the Papal Theocracy (Gilles of Rome, John of Paris, Dante);

- The great thinkers of the early 14th century (William of Ockham; Marsilius of Padua);

- The Conciliar movement (Conciliarism);

- The Political Thought of Fiftheenth-Century Italian Humanists.

Monographic part: Forms of government in the Middle Ages (approximately 6hours). Reference book: the volume of Carlo Carini indicated in the "Bibliography" section.

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending

• R. Lambertini - M. Conetti, Il potere al plurale. Un profilo di storia del pensiero politico medievale, Roma, Jouvence, 2019.

• C. Carini, Teoria e storia delle forme di governo, vol. II, Da Cicero- ne a Machiavelli, Napoli, Guida Editori, 2023 (Introduzione, chapters VII, VIII, IX e X).

 

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS 

• R. Lambertini - M. Conetti, Il potere al plurale. Un profilo di storia del pensiero politico medievale, Roma, Jouvence, 2019.

• C. Carini, Teoria e storia delle forme di governo, vol. II, Da Cicerone a Machiavelli, Napoli, Guida Editori, 2023 (Introduzione, chapters VII, VIII, IX e X).

Non-attending students will prepare the final exam following the previous bibliography with the support of one of the following additional readings:

• A.A. Cassi, Santa giusta umanitaria. La guerra nella civiltà occidentale, Roma, Salerno ed., 2015.
• S. Simonetta, Il pensiero di John Fortescue, Roma, Carocci, 2021.

 

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures (general approach to the subject); reading and comment of the principal sources of the medieval political thought.

Assessment methods

The final exam will be an oral one, with questions aimed to verify the student's knowledge of the themes discussed during frontal lessons (only for students that participated in classwork) as well as those treated in the program's texts. Among the elements that concur in the final evaluation there are: detailed knowledge of the book's content, property of language, and especially the capacity of organizing the information into complex answers showing expositive and critical skills.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.
Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary.
A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Eleven exam appeals are scheduled during the academic year: one per month, excluding August.

Teaching tools

We will use power point slides with images, graphics and geographics maps. Original texts and reference slides will be available online (virtuale.unibo.it).

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.

Links to further information

http://unibo.academia.edu/BerardoPio

Office hours

See the website of Berardo Pio