93331 - Historical Culture, Social Sciences and Historiographic Methodologies (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the students will know how the world of history and social sciences evolved over the modern and contemporary eras; they will be able to place the main texts and authors in context, use the main tools to follow, and keep udated amid, the debates of historians and thus choose the tools most suited to their own skills and purposes. They will be able to illustrate the methods of history with knowledge as to the various models for analysing historical and cultural processes. They will be organized and independent in their work, possess a spirit of self-criticism and an ability to learn from mixing with other people.

Course contents

The course is divided into three parts.

(1) The first will present the problem of the modification of concepts in the 'classical' discursive configuration, which we can call 'historical culture'. We will then examine the methodological complications caused by the formation of the semantic field 'social sciences' (anthropology, sociology, psychology) in the second half of the 19th century.

(2) The second will confront students with the attempts of historians to find (together with anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists) a 'synthesis' between the disciplines. During the 20th century, they will in fact give themselves increasingly specialised codes and, at the same time, will seek intersections as a guarantee of belonging to the same humanistic whole.

(3) The third will address the specific theme of 'true' and 'false' in history starting from the lesson of Marc Bloch in his Reflections of a Historian on the False News of the War (1921): «Critical work is not everything for the historian. Error is not for him only a foreign body that he must eliminate with all the precision of his instruments. He also considers it when he must understand the chain of human events. The masses are aroused by false stories. Items of false news, in all the multiplicity of their forms—simple gossip, deceptions, legends—have filled the life of humanity. How are they born? From what elements do they take shape? How do they propagate themselves, gaining strength as they pass from mouth to mouth or writing to writing? No question should fascinate anyone who loves to reflect on history more than these».

Readings/Bibliography

A student who attends at least 75% of the lectures is considered an attending student.

In addition to the lecture notes, attending students should read:

1. Marc Bloch, Apologia della storia o Mestiere di storico, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2024 (chapters 1-2).

2. Marc Bloch, Riflessioni di uno storico sulle false notizie di guerra, in Id., La guerra e le false notizie: Ricordi (1914-1915) e Riflessioni (1921), Roma, Fazi, 2014.

3. Umberto Eco, La forza del falso, in Id., Sulla letteratura, Milano, Bompiani, 2002, pp. 292-323.

4. one of the following:

• Antonella Salomoni, Il protocollo segreto. Il patto Molotov-Ribbentrop e la falsificazione della storia, Bologna, il Mulino, 2022;

• Ignazio Veca, Il Discorso del Rabbino. Storia del plagio alle origini dell'antisemitismo moderno, Bologna, il Mulino, 2025;

• Victor Zaslavsky, Pulizia di classe. Il massacro di Katyn, Bologna, il Mulino, 2011.

Non-attending students should bring, in addition to the texts listed above:

Edward H. Carr, Sei lezioni sulla storia, Torino, Einaudi, 2000.

 

All the books above are found in the library of the Department of History and Cultures (piazza S. Giovanni in Monte 2).

Foreign students may contact the lecturer for an alternative reading list in English, French, Spanish or other languages.

Teaching methods

Lecture; critical analysis of texts.

Regular attendance and participation are recommended.

Assessment methods

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

The exam will take the form of an oral discussion. The student will be assessed according to the knowledge he has acquired, his ability to provide a clear summary of the topics covered and his critical handling of the material.

The assessment will concentrate particularly on the skill displayed by the student in handling the sources and material in the exam bibliography and his ability to find and use information and examples to illustrate and correlate the various themes and problems addressed in the course.

The assessment will thus examine the student's:

- factual knowledge of the subject;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

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, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology. 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.

During the academic year, oral exam sessions are scheduled in the following months:

January (students with pending exams), March (students with pending exams), May (all students), July (all students), September (all students), November (all students).

Teaching tools

Some materials will be available in the specific section of the University website.

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 Antonella Salomoni