90091 - Social and Cultural History of Contemporary Age

Learning outcomes

The course is addressed to students of cultural heritage; it aims to give basic knowledge of history of contemporary society and culture even with respect to material and immaterial cultural heritage. The first part of the course is methodological and historiographical, and the second part is devoted to an analysis of particularly documents and sources, that will be used for written and oral exams. At the end of the course the students will have the basic knowledge of some of the most important social transformations in Europe and in the Western World from the Industrial Revolution to the end of the 20th century including the related cultural processes. The students will acquire a basic competence in heuristics and in critical analysis of different types of sources, a knowledge of historiographical issues and methodologies of social and cultural history, and will be able to frame critically the main social and cultural events and phenomena, placing them in the general historical context.

Course contents

The course aims to provide a critical and methodological reading of contemporary European social and cultural history, following new and recent historiographical trends: new history, the history of material culture and objects, history from below, microhistory, labour history, women's history, the history of images and imaginaries, cultural history, oral history, public history, etc.

In line with the European Jean Monnet Erasmus Plus project “Arts” and Politics. European cultural heritage policies between old and new values (HEURITAGE 2025–2027), coordinated by the lecturer and launched last year, the course will include meetings and thematic workshops dedicated to the history, politics and sources for the “construction” of a European cultural heritage. The link to the project website Heuritage

Readings/Bibliography

In order to understand the historiographical paradigms of social and cultural history in contemporary age, students must have a basic knowledge of the main events of contemporary history, which students are supposed to have already acquired during their higher education. If this is not enough, it is strongly recommended to read any manual of contemporary history also that used by students during the course of higher education.

For those who attend:

1. A preparation is required on the materials distributed by the teacher during the lessons (slides- essays, primary sources).

2. The study of a monographic volume chosen from those listed in Part B.

For non-attending students:

For the methodological part it requires the compulsory study of the first 3 texts reported in Part A1 (Methodology), students will also, if they deem it appropriate, deepen some methodological aspects with one of the other volumes recommended in Part A2
A book chosen among those of group B (Monographs).
A book chosen among those of group C (specific texts for the monographic part of the course).

Methodology :

A 1) Texts required:

M. Bloch, Apologia della storia o mestiere di storico, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2024.

C. Sorba, F. Mazzini, La svolta culturale. Com'é cambiata la pratica storiografia, Roma Laterza, 2021.

P. Burke, Una rivoluzione storiografica. La scuola delle Annales 1929-1989, Bari, Laterza, 1990.

 

A2) Recommended texts for further information

A. Arcangeli, Che cos'è la storia culturale, Carocci, 2007.

P. Bertella Farnetti, L. Bertucelli, A. Botti (a cura di), Public history. Discussioni e pratiche, Milano-Udine, Mimesis, 2017.

P. Burke, La storia culturale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009.

S. Portelli, Storie orali. Racconto, immaginazione, dialogo, Roma Donzelli, 2007.

P. Sorcinelli, Il quotidiano e i sentimenti. Viaggio nella storia sociale, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2014.

La storia culturale. Parabole di un approccio critico al passato, a cura di R. Petri, A. Salomoni, L. Tomassini, «Memoria e Ricerca», n. 40, maggio-agosto 2012.

B) Monographs

PH. Ariès, G. Duby, La vita privata, L'Ottocento, Laterza, 2001 [1986].

A.M. Banti, Eros e Virtù. Aristocratiche e borghesi da Watteau a Manet, Bari, Laterza, 2016.

A.M. Banti, Sublime madre nostra. La nazione italiana dal Risorgimento al fascismo, Bari, laterza, 2011.

A.M. Banti, V. Fiorino, C. Sorba, Lessico della storia culturale, Roma, Laterza, 2023.

G. Bock, Le donne nella storia europea, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2000.

G.P. Brunetta, L’Italia sullo schermo. Come il cinema ha raccontato l’identità nazionale, Torino, Carocci, 2020.

P. Burke, Testimoni oculari. Il significato storico delle immagini, Roma Carocci, 2011.

T. M. Di Blasio, Cinema e Storia, Interferenze/Confluenze, Viella, 2014.

G. Duby, M. Perrot, Storia delle donne in Occidente, vol. 4 L’Ottocento, o vol. 5 Il Novecento, Laterza, 2011.

U. Frevert, H.G. Haupt, L'uomo dell'Ottocento, Laterza, 1999.

A. Gibelli, La guerra grande: storia di gente comune, Bari, Laterza, 2014.

E.J. Hobsbawm, T. Ranger, L'invenzione della tradizione, Torino, Einaudi, 1987.

E. Leed, Terra di nessuno. Esperienza bellica e identità personale nella prima guerra mondiale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1985.

G. Maifreda, Immagini contese. Storia politica delle figure dal Rinascimento alla cancel culture, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2022.

G. Mosse, L’immagine dell'uomo. Lo stereotipo maschile nell'epoca moderna, Torino, Einaudi, 1997.

G. L. Mosse, La nazionalizzazione delle masse, Simbolismo politico e movimenti di massa in Germania (1815-1933), Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009.

A. Pellegrino, La città più artigiana d’Italia. Firenze, 1861-1929, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2012.

A. Pellegrino, Macchine come fate. Gli operai italiani alle Esposizioni Universali 1851-1911, Milano, Guerini e Associati, 2011.

A. Pescarolo, Il lavoro delle donne nell'Italia contemporanea, Viella, 2019.

G. Procacci, Soldati e prigionieri italiani nella grande guerra, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2000.

D. Sassoon, La Gioconda. L'avventurosa storia del quadro più famoso del mondo, Torino, Carocci, 2004.

A. Rossi Doria ( a cura di), A che punto è la storia delle donne in Italia, Roma, Viella, 2003.

N. Zemon Davis, La storia al cinema. La schiavitù sullo schermo da Kubrick a Spielberg, Con una nota di Alessandro Portelli, Roma Viella, 2007.

 

C) books for the monographic part of the course.

Jan Assam, La memoria culturale, Torino, Einaudi, 1997.

R. Biscioni (a cura di), Fotografia e Public History. Patrimonio storico e comunicazione digitale, Firenze, Pacini, 2017.

V. Deplano (a cura di), Passati Presenti: Luoghi di memoria, cultural heritage e costruzione delle identità in Europa, Resoconti/11, 2024 (scaricabile open acces a questo link https://unicapress.unica.it/index.php/unicapress/catalog/book/978-88-3312-034-8 )

S. Noiret (a cura di), Musei di storia e Public History, Numero monografico della rivista “Memoria e Ricerca”, 1/2017.

D. Sassoon, La cultura degli Europei. Dal 1800 a oggi, Milano, Rizzoli, 2011 (tre capitoli a scelta da concordare con la docente).

L. Smith, P. ShacKel, G. Campbell, Heritage, Labour and the Working Classes,Routledge, 2011.

 

Teaching methods

Projections of documentary materials, films, images are foreseen; in the second part of the course there will be a series of exercises on some samples of sources, to introduce at a didactic level some problems related to the reconstruction and interpretation of social and cultural history, and to the methodology of historical work in relation to the use of the sources of the themes in object.

Assessment methods

There will be projections of documentary materials, films, images; there will also be exercises on some sources, to introduce at the educational level the problems related to the methodology of historical work in relation to the use of the sources of the issues in question.

 

Teaching tools

Basic equipment will be used for the presentation of slides, illustrations and short films to support teaching.

Office hours

See the website of Anna Pellegrino