73324 - MEDITERRANEO: CROCEVIA DI STORIE E DI CULTURE

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide a first overview of the history of the Mediterranean world. Few areas in the world match the historical density, the heterogeneity and the complexity of social interaction which, due to proximity and geographical mobility, have emerged in the Mediterranean world. The multiple realities that distinguish it offer a privileged point of observation to face the study of the problem of how communities belonging to different religions, languages, ethnic groups and traditions can interact with each other over time.

Course contents

Through a historical, geographical, and anthropological perspective, the course provides students with interpretative tools for critically examining some of the major issues affecting the contemporary Mediterranean, including migration, cultural identities, social inequalities, conflicts, human rights, and processes of integration. By adopting a long-term historical approach, the course enables students to understand how many contemporary phenomena are deeply rooted in the past.

For students enrolled in the Master's Degree Programme in Progettazione e gestione dell'intervento educativo nel disagio sociale - Planning and Management of Educational Interventions in Social Disadvantage, this knowledge represents an essential resource for understanding the social and intercultural contexts in which they will be called upon to work. The course therefore aims to develop the skills necessary to critically interpret contemporary complexity, to design educational and social interventions that respect cultural diversity, and to promote active citizenship, intercultural dialogue, and peacebuilding.

Course Contents

1. The Mediterranean: A Plural Space

• The Mediterranean: a plural civilization
• Representations of the Mediterranean: myths, memories, and narratives
• What is the Mediterranean? Historical, geographical, and anthropological approaches

2. Geographies and Societies

• The physical and human geography of the Mediterranean
• Peoples, languages, and religions
• Living in the Mediterranean: cities, rural areas, coasts, and islands

3. Histories of Encounters and Exchanges

• Routes through history: migrations, travels, and encounters
• Trade routes and the circulation of knowledge
• The Mediterranean and Europe: mutual influences
• East and West of the Mediterranean: histories of civilizations

4. States, Identities, and Transformations: Contemporary Mediterranean Challenges

• The formation of Mediterranean states
• Turkey between Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East
• The Balkans: borderland or bridge between worlds?
• Borders, occupations, and self-determination: Israel and Palestine, Western Sahara and the Sahrawi people
• Migration, borders, and human rights
• Wars and crises in the Wider Mediterranean

5. The Future of the Mediterranean

• Intercultural dialogue and peacebuilding
• Euro-Mediterranean cooperation
• The Mediterranean today: between history, conflict, and the future
• Peace initiatives and Mediterranean citizenship

Readings/Bibliography

Required Reading

• Borghi, B., & Galletti, F. (2025). Un'altra storia del Mediterraneo. Incontri tra ricerca e didattica. Rome: Carocci.
• Borghi, B., & Galoppini, L. (Eds.). (2022). L'andare per lo mondo. Antologia di viaggi attraverso i secoli tra realtà e immaginario. Bologna: Pàtron.
• Ruiz-Domènec, J. E. (2023). Il sogno di Ulisse. Storia umana del Mediterraneo dalla guerra di Troia all'emergenza degli sbarchi. Turin: UTET.

Recommended Reading

• Abulafia, D. (2010). Il Grande Mare. Milan: Mondadori.
• Braudel, F. (2002). Il Mediterraneo. Lo spazio e la storia. Gli uomini e la tradizione. Rome: Bompiani.
• Guarracino, S. (2007). Mediterraneo: immagini, storie e teorie da Omero a Braudel. Milan: Mondadori.

Further Reading

L’alternativa mediterranea, a cura di F. Cassano, D. Zolo, Milano 2007.

B. Borghi, Il Mediterraneo di Anselmo Adorno. Una testimonianza di pellegrinaggio del tardo Medioevo, Bologna 2019.

B. Borghi, African Landings Egypt and Sinai as Seen by Medieval European and Arab Travellers (4th–15th Centuries), London - New York 2025.

F. Braudel, Civiltà e imperi del Mediterraneo nell’età di Filippo II, Torino 1953 (ed. orig. Paris, 1949).

S. Bono, Il Mediterraneo. Da Lepanto a Barcellona, Perugia 2013.

S. Bono, Un altro Mediterraneo. Una storia comune fra scontri e integrazione, Roma 2008.

A. Brilli, Mercanti avventurieri. Storie di viaggi e di commerci, Bologna 2013.

F. Canale Cama, D. Casanova, R.M. Quadri Delli, Storia del Mediterraneo moderno e contemporaneo, Napoli 2017.

M. Campanini, Storia del Medio Oriente contemporaneo, Bologna 2006.

F. Cardini, L’Europa e l’Islam. Storia di un malinteso, Roma-Bari 2011.

P. Cabanes, Introduzione alla storia del mondo antico. Dai regni del Vicino Oriente alla fine dell’Impero romano, Roma 2008.

G. Codovini, Storia del conflitto arabo israeliano palestinese. Tra dialoghi di pace e monologhi di guerra, Milano 2014.

G. Corvi, Fondali. Custodi abissali di ruvidi cosmi, Roma 2024.

Ebraismo, a cura di G. Filoramo, Roma-Bari 2011.

L’Europa e il Mediterraneo. Partner o vicini scomodi?, a cura di F. Zallio, Milano 2004.

Europa e Mediterraneo tra Medioevo e prima età moderna. L'osservatorio italiano, a cura di S. Gensini, Pacini 1992.

M. Fuschi, Il Mediterraneo. Geografia della complessità, Milano 2012.

C. Greppi, L'età dei muri. Breve storia del nostro tempo, Milano 2019.

Gli ideali del Mediterraneo. Storia, filosofia e letteratura nella cultura europea, a cura di G. Duby, Messina 2001.

B. Lewis, Gli arabi nella storia, Roma-Bari 2001.

B. Lewis, L'Europa e l'islam, Roma-Bari 1995.

Lingue di mare, Lingue di terra, a cura di C. Ferrini, Messina 2000.

T. Marshall, I muri che dividono il mondo, Milano 2018.

P. Matvejević, Brevario Mediterraneo, Milano 2006.

Il Mediterraneo: ancora Mare Nostrum?, a cura di M. Aymard-G. Barberini-S. Maffettone, Roma 2004.

Il Mediterraneo: figure e incontri, a cura di M. Noureddine Affaya, C. Cassar, R. El Khayat, Yolanda Onghena, M.–À. Roque, N. Theuma, Milano 2005.

Il Mediterraneo. Geografia della complessità, a cura di M. Fuschi, Milano 2016.

Mediterraneo, il mare delle complessità, Quaderni di innovazione didattica 4, CRES 1996.

Mediterraneo medievale. Cristiani, musulmani ed eretici tra Europa e Oltremare (secoli IX.-XIII), a cura di M. Meschini 2001.

Migrazioni nel Mediterraneo. Dinamiche, identità e movimenti, a cura di G. Acconcia, M. Mercuri, Milano 2019.

A. Musarra, Il Grifo e il Leone. Genova e Venezia in lotta per il Mediterraneo, Roma 2020.

E. Orlando, Medioevo migratorio. Mobilità, contatti e interazioni in Italia nei secoli V-XV, il Mulino, Bologna 2022.

A. Riccardi, Mediterraneo. Cristianesimo e Islam tra coabitazione e conflitto, Milano 2014.

Le rivolte arabe e l’Islam. La transizione incompiuta, a cura di M. Campanini, Bologna 2013.

R. Salih, Musulmane rivelate, Roma 2008.

A. Vanoli, Storia del mare, Roma 2022.

Here is a polished academic English translation suitable for an official university syllabus.

For Non-attending Students

In addition to the required readings for attending students:

• B. Borghi & F. Galletti, Un'altra storia del Mediterraneo. Incontri tra ricerca e didattica. Carocci, Rome, 2025.
• B. Borghi & L. Galoppini (eds.), L'andare per lo mondo. Antologia di viaggi attraverso i secoli tra realtà e immaginario. Pàtron Editore, Bologna, 2022.
• J. E. Ruiz-Domènec, Il sogno di Ulisse. Storia umana del Mediterraneo dalla guerra di Troia all'emergenza degli sbarchi. Turin, 2023.
• One additional text selected by the student from the Further Reading bibliography.

Teaching methods

The course will consist of lectures, classroom discussions, analysis of historical sources, and the viewing and discussion of documentary and audiovisual materials. Practical and workshop-based activities developed in different educational contexts, and closely related to the topics addressed in the Master's Degree Programme, will also be presented. Experts and guest speakers will be invited to contribute to selected sessions.

Teaching activities are designed to encourage the active participation of students. Group work will be organized to promote collaborative learning and to support the in-depth study of specific topics that will also be considered in the final assessment.

Students attending the course will actively participate in the events of the International Feast of History (Festa Internazionale della Storia). Details regarding participation will be provided during the course.

Assessment methods

Assessment consists of an oral examination designed to evaluate the critical and methodological competencies acquired during the course. Students will be asked to discuss the required readings and, for attending students, the group activities carried out during the semester.

Particular attention will be paid to students' ability to:

• critically analyse and interpret historical sources and bibliographical materials;
• present (for attending students) a project proposal for a historical investigation developed by their working group on an agreed topic.

The oral examination will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• clarity in the presentation of topics and in the use of historical sources (classification, analysis, interpretation and critical commentary);
• ability to establish connections between the main themes and developments in Mediterranean history, linking past and present;
• appropriate use of discipline-specific terminology;
• critical reflection on the educational implications of the topics studied and their relevance to the professional contexts in which students will work.

The final mark is expressed on a scale of 30 points, according to the following criteria:

• 18–19: limited knowledge of the course topics; analytical skills emerge only with the lecturer's guidance; language generally correct but basic and sometimes imprecise.
• 20–24: satisfactory knowledge of a limited number of topics; ability to carry out autonomous analysis only on straightforward issues; generally correct language, although disciplinary terminology is not always used accurately.
• 25–29: good knowledge of a wide range of topics; ability to carry out independent critical analysis; appropriate command of disciplinary terminology; clear, coherent and well-structured presentation.
• 30–30 with honours: comprehensive knowledge of the course contents; excellent ability to carry out independent critical analysis and establish meaningful connections; complete mastery of disciplinary terminology; well-developed argumentative skills and critical self-reflection, with the ability to relate historical issues to both the Mediterranean context and contemporary challenges.

To sit the examination, students must register through the University's online examination system (AlmaEsami) within the official deadlines. Students who experience technical problems preventing registration must promptly notify the Academic Office before the registration deadline. The lecturer reserves the right to admit such students to the examination.

Students who have obtained credit recognition from previous academic careers, as well as Erasmus and other exchange students, will take an oral examination based on a programme agreed in advance with the lecturer.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) during the assessment is strictly prohibited. Any use of AI constitutes a violation of the University's principles of academic integrity.

Teaching tools

Lectures will be supported by audiovisual materials, PowerPoint presentations, historical sources, scholarly articles, educational field visits, and meetings with academics and subject specialists.

All materials discussed during the course will be uploaded to the course's virtual learning environment.

Students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) or disabilities are encouraged to contact the University's support services well in advance:
https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it

Where appropriate, the University Support Service may propose reasonable accommodations. Requests must be submitted to the lecturer at least 15 days in advance and will be evaluated in relation to the learning objectives of the course.

Office Hours

Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Office 58
Department of Education Studies
Via Filippo Re 6
40126 Bologna, Italy

Appointments via Microsoft Teams may also be arranged with the lecturer.

Telephone: +39 051 2091607

E-mail: b.borghi@unibo.it

For updated office hours, please consult Beatrice Borghi's personal webpage.

Office hours

See the website of Beatrice Borghi