27280 - Seminars (1) (G.A)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the seminar students will be able to interpret issues related to specific historical phenomena in a diachronic and transversal perspective, thought the elaboration and synthesis of the data coming from the analysis of written records and material sources and from the collective debate originated from the contact with other people. They will be able to formulate autonomously and in an organized way a research path or an intellectual work, using the specific acquired tools with methodological rigour, precision and accuracy.

Course contents

In Anglophone scholarship, the term queenship refers to a specific field of research that examines the representation and role of the queen, her actual exercise of power, and her ability to pursue an independent political agenda. This seminar focuses on queenship, that is, female rulership, in the Early Middle Ages (from the sixth to the eleventh century). The topic will be explored through the analysis of recent scholarly literature and the close reading of selected primary sources (in Latin, but always accompanied by an English translation). Conducted in a seminar format, the course will examine both the concrete forms of female royal power and the use of gendered models in contemporary political discourse to legitimize or delegitimize the actions and role of queens.

Readings/Bibliography

Students will work with the course materials (written and visual primary sources, scholarly literature, and PowerPoint presentations), which will be made available through the University's online learning platform.

Selected bibliography:

• Tiziana Lazzari, Le donne nell'alto Medioevo, Bruno Mondadori, Milan, 2010.
• Simon MacLean, Ottonian Queenship, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2017.
• Giorgio Ravegnani, Teodora, Salerno Editrice, Salerno, 2016.
• Cristina La Rocca, “Amalasunta, madre di un re bambino, e la competizione per il regno nell'Italia ostrogota (in margine a «Variae» XI, I),” in Genre et compétition dans les sociétés occidentales du haut Moyen Âge, IVe–XIe siècle, ed. Régine Le Jan and Sylvie Joye, Brepols, Turnhout, 2018 (Haut Moyen Âge, 29), pp. 65–77.
• Kate Cooper, “The Heroine and the Historian: Procopius of Caesarea on the Troubled Reign of Queen Amalasuentha,” in A Companion to Ostrogothic Italy, ed. Michael Shane Bjornlie, Kristina Sessa, and Jonathan J. Arnold, Brill, Leiden–Boston, 2016 (Brill's Companions to European History, 9), pp. 296–315.
• Germana Gandino, “La memoria di Teodolinda nelle fonti altomedievali,” in Teodolinda. I Longobardi all'alba dell'Europa. Atti del secondo Convegno internazionale di studio (Monza, Gazzada, Castelseprio-Torba, Cairate, 2–7 December 2015), ed. Gabriele Archetti, Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo (CISAM), Spoleto, 2018 (Convegni, 2), pp. 855–872.
• Nicoletta Francovich Onesti, “Le regine dei Longobardi: archetipi narrativi e legittimazioni dinastiche,” in Le regine dei Longobardi e altri saggi, Artemide, Rome, 2013, pp. 7–30.
• Tiziana Lazzari, “La rappresentazione dei legami di parentela e il ruolo delle donne nell'alta aristocrazia del regno italico (secc. IX–X): l'esempio di Berta di Toscana,” in Agire da donna. Modelli e pratiche di rappresentazione (secoli VI–X). Atti del Convegno (Padua, 18–19 February 2005), ed. Cristina La Rocca, Brepols, Turnhout, 2007 (Haut Moyen Âge, 3), pp. 129–149.
• Germana Gandino, “Aspirare al regno: Berta di Toscana,” in Agire da donna. Modelli e pratiche di rappresentazione (secoli VI–X). Atti del Convegno (Padua, 18–19 February 2005), ed. Cristina La Rocca, Brepols, Turnhout, 2007 (Haut Moyen Âge, 3), pp. 249–268.
• Cristina La Rocca, “Liutprando da Cremona e il paradigma femminile di dissoluzione dei Carolingi,” in Agire da donna. Modelli e pratiche di rappresentazione (secoli VI–X). Atti del Convegno (Padua, 18–19 February 2005), ed. Cristina La Rocca, Brepols, Turnhout, 2007 (Haut Moyen Âge, 3), pp. 291–308.
• Janet L. Nelson, “Queens as Jezebels: the Careers of Brunhild and Balthild in Merovingian History,” in Women in the Medieval World, vol. 4, ed. Cordelia Beattie, Routledge, Abingdon & New York, 2017 (Critical Concepts in Women's History), pp. 3–41.
• Chiara Stedile, La Vita Mathildis antiquior e la scrittura femminile in epoca ottoniana, with a foreword by Tiziana Lazzari, Pacini, Pisa, 2023.

Teaching methods

After a series of introductory lectures, students will take part in the discussion and presentation of specialist scholarly literature and in the analysis of selected primary sources. The work carried out during the seminar will form the basis for the preparation of a written assignment.

Assessment methods

This course is not available to non-attending students.

To obtain the final pass (idoneità), students are required to attend at least 24 of the 30 scheduled contact hours.

Each student must submit a written assignment of approximately 10 pages (around 20,000 characters, including spaces) presenting the results of the individual or group work developed during the seminar.

The assignment must be submitted in digital format (Word, OpenOffice, or PDF) at least five days before the examination date.

The oral examination will consist of a discussion of the written assignment.

Attendance is compulsory, with exemptions granted only to:

• students participating in an Erasmus mobility programme abroad;
• working students who provide a statement from their employer confirming that their working hours make attendance impossible.

Students who fall into one of these categories are invited to contact the instructor in order to agree on an alternative programme of work leading to the successful completion of the course requirements.

Assessment Criteria

The written assignment will be assessed on the student's ability to engage critically with the primary sources and scholarly literature provided during the course, to present and discuss relevant themes and issues, and to establish meaningful connections between them.

Assessment will take into account:

• mastery of the course content;
• the ability to analyse and synthesise themes and concepts;
• the ability to communicate effectively using language appropriate to the subject.

Excellent performance will be awarded to students who demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the topics covered during the course, the ability to use them critically, and a confident command of both academic expression and subject-specific terminology.

Good performance will reflect sound knowledge of the material, together with satisfactory analytical and synthetic skills expressed in clear, though not always fully appropriate, academic language.

Minimal achievement will be awarded where students display gaps in their preparation and/or use inappropriate language, despite demonstrating a basic knowledge of the examination material.

Insufficient preparation, inappropriate use of language, and an inability to engage effectively with the bibliographical materials provided during the course will result in a failing assessment.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

When preparing written assignments, students may make limited, declared, and non-substantive use of AI for support activities (such as summarisation and rephrasing). Substantive use of AI in the writing of the assignment is not permitted.

Examination Sessions

In 2027, as in previous years, seven examination sessions are scheduled: January, March, May, June, September, November, and December.

Teaching tools

Teaching materials will be shared through the University's Virtuale online learning platform. The platform will provide PowerPoint presentations summarising the lecture content, PDF files of primary sources, and additional reading materials.

Students who require reasonable accommodations or support measures because of a disability or a specific learning disorder (SLD) are advised to contact the University's dedicated support service as their first point of reference: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students.

Office hours

See the website of Giacomo Vignodelli